Broken: Unyielding Beast
by TheAceOfKnaves
Summary: After everything there was still no getting over either of them. Ann has to face that they are both a part of her life. And she has a decision to make. But they are both quickly losing their patience with her disappearance. Sequel to Breaking the Beast: The Jokers Equal. Joker/OC and Wayne/OC Read the first story or youll be completely lost. Rated M for violence, language, and sex.
1. Chapter 1

Hi Guys. So this is the sequel to ~Breaking the Beast: The Jokers Equal~. Been working on it for a bit. I think I have enough for the first two chapters or so by now. ^_^ I'm so happy to finally be able to put all these crazy thoughts of mine out there for everyone to read. Reviews and suggestions are always welcome. Hope you enjoy.

~Broken: Unyielding Beast~

Chapter 1

The smell of hot coffee was thick in the small diner. Ann sat staring out the window at nothing in particular as the rain drizzled outside. She had been coming here for the past month for no other reason other than to get out of the small apartment she was currently living in several blocks away. Because of the war between Joker and Batman, she had basically been forced to leave behind everything and everyone that she cared about. She kept in contact with her friends by making calls from local pay phones once a week. Since it had been about three months, she knew Bruce was keeping his distance, for the moment. She knew because if he had been looking for her he would have traced the calls by now.

Joker had been causing even more trouble than usual. With the mafia in his back pocket and the crooked cops on his leash, Gotham was practically his play ground. Lately he'd been more violent than ever, taking to one on one personal conflicts instead of his usual flashy and more destructive activities. Ann figured it was his anger at her disappearance that caused his transformation. Maybe a more personal approach helped him let off some of his frustration?

And Batman? He was nearly non-existent. He occasionally appeared to fight with Joker when he cooked up something unusually nasty or destructive. But all in all, he was like a ghost. Something else was obviously on his mind other than the Clown Prince of Crime.

The restaurant was dead today, with Ann being the only customer. The waitress walked by and refilled her cup for her with a smile. She was always smiling. Her name was Jasmine. She was really thin, close to about 110 or 115 pounds with long dark hair that she kept in a high ponytail.

Sitting in the corner booth across the room from her was a little girl. Ann was going on the assumption that it was Jasmine's little sister. The girl would come in every day after school and then wait for Jasmine to get off work at 5. She seemed a bit reserved for a girl her age. She looked to be about 10 or 11. She was cute, with short black hair that she either wore down to her shoulders or up in pig tails. But she seemed to be a bit jaded, even in her youth.

It was almost 5 when Jasmine's relief showed up. Her name was Lisa. She had short blonde hair and walked with a sashay that showed off her butt.

Ann was getting a strange feeling of unease as she watched Jasmine and her kid sister walk out of the diner, waiving goodbyes at Lisa. The feeling grew a bit stronger as she watched them disappear around the side of the building. Frowning, Ann left a few bills on the table to pay for the coffee before she walked out into the dreary rain.

Looking around, she saw no visible reason why her stomach was twisting into knots. She turned, annoyed with herself for being so jumpy, and started her walk back to her apartment, when a sudden scream and gunshot echoed around the nearby buildings.

Suddenly startled, Ann turned and ran in the direction of the noise. Sprinting around the small diner she found herself running through a back alley. At a cross section in the ally she skidded to a halt at seeing the sight before her. There was a man that appeared to be rifling through a purse, in search of cash. And at his feet lay an unconscious and severely bleeding Jasmine. Her little sister was huddled up against the wall of the alley crying.

Ann's shock quickly gave way to anger as the thug shouted at the little girl before pointing the gun at her.

Jumping into action, Ann ran forward, pulling her knife from her belt and hurling it at the thug, catching him in the shoulder as he fired the gun. The bullet hit the brick building a foot above the now screaming child. The thug turned just in time to receive a kick to the face and was knocked backwards. He went sprawling and Ann followed. She retrieved her knife from the man's shoulder before grasping him by his dirty hair and lifting his head off the ground. She raised the knife and pressed it into his throat. That's when he started begging. "Bastard. You deserve to die." She told him.

"Stop."

Ann jerked her hand slightly in surprise as she glanced at the little girl, earning more begging from the thug. Telling him to shut up she jerked on his hair then looked back at the girl. "You really think this creep deserves to live? Even after he almost killed you?" Ann asked. The girl's eyes were piercing. "No. He doesn't." She replied. "But living is harder."

_Wisdom beyond her years…._

She turned her attention back to the thug. "You should thank her. She's the reason your still alive." Ann told him before smashing his head into the pavement, knocking him unconscious.

An hour later Ann sat in the hospital waiting room, explaining what had happened to the police. The little girl, Ann now knew as Reign, was clinging to her arm. Jasmine was alive, but just barely. Apparently the thug jumped them in the alley and demanded her purse. But before she could give it to him he shot her. She must have twisted away as he pulled the trigger. The bullet entered her right side just below the ribs and exited under her left shoulder. They said she was lucky to be alive. She had to have emergency surgery to repair the damage that the bullet had caused and was expected to make a full recovery, but would need to be closely monitored in the ICU.

The police were about to leave when the Commissioner Gordon walked in. Sighing, Ann rolled her eyes mentally sighing to herself. Gordon was nice. Always willing to help. Always concerned for her safety. He was a good friend. But his naivety was an annoyance to have to circumvent. There were hardly any gray areas for him. Most everything was either black or white.

"I heard your name mentioned in the reports that came over the scanner. I came to make sure you were okay." He told her. "Great. If you can find me that easy then so can Batman and Joker." She told him, now more annoyed. He frowned at her. "Joker can't trace our scanners. And Batman is your friend, isn't he?" He asked. Ann rolled her eyes. "Wow. I knew you boys in blue were clueless. I just didn't realize how bad it was. Any idiot with 50 bucks in a pawn shop can pick up an out dated police scanner. And they pick up the radio frequencies just as good as the new ones." She stated. "And as for Batman. I guess you could call him my friend. But for personal reasons, I'm staying as far away from him as possible. His war with Joker is making my life insane." She told him. He sighed and leaned forward in his chair. "Sounds like Joker's still after you. He's the real problem. He's turned the city into a giant breeding ground for criminals. I never understood just what his interest was in you though." He said. Ann glared at him, mainly for insinuating that Joker was some kind of rodent that 'infested' things. "His interest in me doesn't matter. Just keep my name away from the press and off your damned police scanners." She told him. "I don't understand why your running from Batman though. He could help you Ann. He's probably the only one who can." Gordon told her. She crossed her arms. "Batman only makes everything worse." She told him.

It was silent for a few moments before either of them spoke again. "If we could just catch Joker, lock him up, your life would go back to normal." He told her. She scoffed. "My life has never been normal." He scooted forward a bit more. "But he's interested in you, Ann. He wants you for some reason. You could help us catch him. You could help us get rid of his madness." He explained, trying to convince her. Her mouth dropped slightly as she looked back at him. She stood, suddenly angry. "How dare you. I can't believe you would ask me to do something like that." She glared down at him. He looked shocked at her outburst, but he pulled himself together quickly. "I understand what a horrible thing it is to ask you to do this. It must have been terrible for you when you were his prisoner. But think of all the good that could come from helping us. You could keep the same thing from happening to someone else."

**He thinks your afraid of Joker.**

_No. He thinks Joker traumatized me._

The sound of his sigh brought her back to reality. She gave a glance at Reign to see the child was giving her an inquisitive but suspicious look.

_She's smarter than I thought._

"I'm sorry Ann. I'm sorry I asked you to do that. But I'm running out of options here. I have to stop Joker. If you change your mind…" He looked up at her. She gave him a half smile. "You'll be the first person I call." She told him. He smiled at her before he stood. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to step into the bathroom a minute." He said slowly before walking to the nearby bathroom. He looked incredibly stressed out. He must have been really counting on her answer being yes.

Ann ran her fingers through her hair and sat back down next to Reign. The girl looked up at her. She hadn't said more than two words since they got to the hospital. Ann had been looking out for her until their parents showed up.

"Did the Joker really kidnap you?" She asked. Ann smiled at her. "Kind of." She told her. "But that's not the whole story is it." It wasn't a question. Ann sighed. "No. It's not." Ann replied.

"But you don't want that man to know about it, do you?" The girl asked. "Because he's a cop." Ann frowned. "Yeah." She really didn't know what else to say.

It was quiet a minute. "So where's your parents at anyways?" Ann asked. The girl's inquisitive face turned sad.

"That's a very good question." Ann turned to see a professional looking woman with brown curly hair pulled back in a loose bun. Reign instantly turned fearful and clung to Ann's arm. "Can I help you with something?" Ann asked the lady as she stood up.

"My name's Laura Eversteen. I'm a case worker for child welfare. Reign's parents were killed in a car accident a few years ago. Her sister Jasmine ran away with the girl. Illegally."

"She kept me away from you! I don't want a foster home! I want to stay with my sister!" The girl yelled from behind Ann, while still clinging to her arm. "Reign sweetie. Your sister can't take care of you. Just look what happened. You could have been killed because of her carelessness. Please don't make this hard. Just come with me." Reign glared at the woman and shook her head.

"I don't think she wants to go with you lady." Ann told the woman while at the same time staying where the woman couldn't reach Reign. Laura's demeanor turned sour. "Well she doesn't have a choice. It's the law." She said with her hands on her hips. "She needs a foster home with a responsible adult who can watch over her. Not another child trying to raise a child."

"I'm not going back to a foster home! Just leave us alone." Reign was practically in tears.

"She can stay with me." Ann told the woman. She wasn't sure what had come over her. She could barely take care of herself. But somehow she just couldn't stand to watch the woman drag the girl away.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. She needs to be put back into the system and anyone that wishes to be her foster parent will have to go through a thorough background check and credit history examination to be sure they will be a fit parent. I can't give children out to just anyone."

Commissioner Gordon took that moment to re-appear from around the corner. He'd probably heard everything. "It's alright Mrs. Eversteen. I'm sure under the circumstances you can let the girl stay with Miss Giovanni here. She's more than capable of taking care of the child. Her finances are 'very' well established."

The woman seemed to consider this a moment.

_What the hell is wrong with me? Oh God, please say no…._

"If you trust her, Commissioner, then I'm sure Reign will be okay. Temporarily, at least. But once your sister recovers, I'll have to take you both back to find you a real home." Her last sentence was directed at Reign.

Reign smiled. "In two months it won't matter. Jasmine will turn 18 and then she'll be my legal guardian." She stuck out her tongue, as if it would magically make the woman disappear.

The case worker ignored Reign's comment and began idly chatting with the Commissioner. Ann tuned out their conversation.

"I wanna meet him." Reign said suddenly where only Ann could hear. Ann gave her a look that showed she wasn't really okay with that. "I wanna meet both of them." She corrected herself. Ann felt her eyebrow twitch. "I'm not talking to either of them at the moment. And I'll explain why later." Ann told her. The girl crossed her arms with a small pout. "You'd better." The sight was so comical Ann laughed. It seemed like it had been forever since she had found anything funny enough to laugh at.

Several hours later Ann unlocked the doors to her apartment and flipped on the living room's lights. She glared at the off white walls, and the brown sofa, the ugly yellow carpet. She hated this place. Across from the sofa was her plasma tv and a book case that contained all her movies and several books. Along the wall next to the door were stacks of boxes. She still hadn't finished unpacking yet. Something in the back of her head told her that if she did she'd either have to pack it all up and move again, or she'd be stuck with the horrible place.

Stepping aside she allowed the little girl at her side to enter. Reign took a step into the room and looked around. She had a bag slung over her shoulder and carried a teddy bear with a big blue bow in her free hand. Ann had taken Reign back to where she lived with her sister to get some clothes and other essentials.

"I thought it would be nicer." The girl commented. Ann scowled. "Yeah. So did I. Don't worry, it's temporary." She told the girl. Ann shut the door and locked it before going to the spare room next to hers. There was an adjourning bathroom that connected the two rooms. "I guess this is your room." Ann told Reign. The girl walked in after her then jumped to lightly land on the bed. She giggled when it bounced her slightly. "This bed's better than the one I have." She commented with a smile. Ann suddenly realized just how under-privileged that the child must have been forced to live, with nothing but a waitresses' wages for two people to live on.

Ann was glad Misa had talked her into bringing the spare bed. Ann had initially refused, seeing as how she would have never needed it. Now, it seemed that it had a use after all.

"Well I'm glad you like it. It's yours now." She commented. The girl beamed up at her with a bright smile. Ann smirked at the child before going back to the living room. She pulled off her leather jacket and tossed it over a chair by the door. She flipped on the tv and was about to sit down to relax. "Why do you wear guns?" Reign's voice asked from behind her. Ann glanced over her shoulder at the girl then down at the pistol in her holster. "It's a precaution." Ann told her. "You carry the knife as a precaution too?" Reign asked. "Well it came in pretty handy today." Ann commented, looking down at her belt and the knife that the jacket had kept hidden.

Ann flopped down on the far end of the sofa and began flipping through channels. Reign crossed the room and sat next to her. "So what really happened between you and the Joker?" Reign asked after a few moments of silence. Ann closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Just the mention of him threatened to overtake her senses. "I kind of knew him before he was how he is now. I just didn't know it." Ann explained. The girl kicked her feet a few times, her heels hitting the sofa. "What about Batman? You know him because of the Joker?" Ann scowled. "Kind of. But not really. It's complicated." Ann explained. Another minute of silence. "So they both want to be your friend. And it makes your life hell because they fight. And you can't decide which one you like more. And even if you could, if you picked one you'd have to fight with the other one. So you ran away." Reign declared. Ann stared at her wide eyes, her mouth open in slight shock. Her shock turned into annoyance. "How did you get so smart, Reign?" Ann asked. The girl smiled. "My mom used to ask me that." She explained. Ann smirked. "Can't imagine why." She replied a bit sarcastically. The girl huffed in response.

It was silent for a good ten minutes before the girl spoke again. "So what's the plan if one of them shows up?" She asked. Ann had almost dozed off on the couch. She had to think through the haze in her mind for a minute. "Well. I don't really have one…" She trailed off. Reign's mouth dropped slightly. "You mean two of the most powerful and dangerous men in Gotham are out looking for you, and you don't even have a plan?" She asked in disbelief. Ann crossed her arms. "I don't really plan things. They just…. happen. I go with my instincts. It'll turn out okay. I'm more focused on making sure they DON'T find me- us." Ann explained.

It was silent for a good ten or fifteen minutes before she noticed Reign nodding off next to her. Ann smiled. "Hey. You've had a long day. And it's late. Why don't we hit the hay?" Ann said as she flipped off the tv. Reign yawned and stretched before she stood. Ann followed as the girl padded her way to her new bedroom. Leaning against the doorframe Ann watched the girl climb into her new bed and snuggled under the covers.

Ann woke first the next morning. Rolling out of bed and getting dressed she wandered into the living room and began rummaging through some of her boxes. She was looking for some of the board games that Duane had insisted she take to keep her entertained. Although she could hardly play a board game by herself. But Duane stopped by on occasion to play her at chess. And once in a while they would spar in her small living room. She didn't necessarily like the idea of him coming often, as someone could follow him to her. But she did enjoy seeing her friend.

Reign woke up several hours after Ann. She came stumbling into the living room rubbing her eyes and yawning. Ann didn't have much food in the apartment, but she managed to fix the two of them a bowl of ramen for breakfast. It was Saturday, so Ann turned on some cartoons for Reign to watch while Ann busied herself by cleaning her guns. Once it got closer to noon Ann announced that she was going to go get some groceries, since Reign would need to eat every day. And Ann simply didn't find it plausible to take her out to eat every time they were hungry. Mainly because if she ran into Joker or Bruce out on the street she had planned to run and lose them. But she wouldn't be able to do so if Reign was with her.

Ann chose to drive to a nearby Wal-Mart to get their groceries. She picked up mainly things that would be quick and easy. Some potatoes, eggs, milk, bacon, lunch meat, bread, and cheese and tv dinners. All the while asking Reign's opinion on which choices she would prefer. She also got some strawberry ice cream, yogurt, and of course Dr. Pepper. After their grocery shopping was over they picked out several movies that Reign would enjoy. And Ann bought her a few toys to play with. She noted that she was getting a bit low on cash. She would have to go to an ATM later.

Throughout the day Ann got to know the girl a bit better. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing board games and watching the movies they had picked out. Before long scrabble, Monopoly and checkers began to get a bit boring. So Ann suggested chess. She wasn't surprised when Reign confessed that she'd never learned how to play. So Ann began to teach her. This went on until Reign began to get sleepy and announced she was going to bed. Ann watched her drag her feet to her room. And after saying good night she did the same.

~Joker's POV~

"I said NO!" Misa yelled just before trying to slam the door for a second time. "I know you know where she is. I just want to talk to her…" He tried again.

_I swear to the abyss, if it weren't for that promise…._

"Damn it. She doesn't want to talk! She wants to be left alone. And I know exactly how she feels!" She slammed her heel into his toes. Yelping he jumped away from the door on his good foot, only to have the door slammed in his face. He glared at nothing for a moment before turning to walk away.

It was pointless. She'd disappeared a whole three months or more earlier. And no one would so much as tell him if she was even still in the city. And it was making him very annoyed. He literally had nothing. No clues. No credit card activity. No calls from her phone. He had the places she used to frequent under constant surveillance. Nothing. She had completely dropped off the grid. And it was making him insane.

He had decided to go a bit incognito today, opting for his leather trench coat and no face paint. Not that it really mattered. No one even really bothered anymore. Even Batman was hard to coax out of the hole that he hid in. Perhaps she had something to do with that too. She didn't understand. Everything was for her. Everything that had happened was all because of her.

In his mulling he realized he had randomly walked towards the Blondie's house. Perhaps it was time to harass her some more. She was the obvious weak link. But no matter the threats he sent her way or the random acts of violence, she wouldn't budge.

With a renewed sense of persistence he headed her way.

Within a half hour he had made it to the Ashley's apartment. He had just climbed the stairs and was about to knock when the door opened. Ashley's eyes went wide at seeing him in her doorway. "Joke- I mean Jak." She scowled immediately and glared his way. "What do you want now?" She asked in an annoyed voice. He leaned against the railing of the small porch. "You know very well what I want." He told her as he crossed his arms.

She stepped outside and closed and locked the door. "Well you can forget it. I've told you a billion times. I don't know where she is. No one does." She told him before walking down the stairs. He glared at her back and followed her.

"I know she keeps in contact with you. I just want a way to contact her. Just to talk. I'm not going to do anything crazy." He told her. She gave him a surprised look. "You? Do something crazy? No not you." She said sarcastically. "If I had her number. 'IF' I know you'd use it to try to trace her calls. Not call and talk to her. If you called her she'd just hang up. The only way to convince her of anything is to do it in person. I know her well enough for that. And I know you do too." She told him and continued walking down the block. "As far as I'm concerned you can shove off."

"What the hell does it take for you people to get it?! He yelled after her. "I'm not going to friggin hurt her or harass her or anything else like that. I just wanna know why the hell she disappeared!" He was beginning to lose his temper with the whole situation. The blonde whirled on him. "She left because of Y. O. U. It's your fault she's gone. You pushed her too damn far. She needs time 'away' from you. That's why she left. So leave her alone. If she wants to see you she'll find you. Now go away!" She yelled at him. Turning on her heel she kept walking.

_No way. It doesn't end here._

He followed, determined to get any information he could, even if he had to wring it from her neck. Two seconds later she turned the corner of the next street. Just as he was about to follow he heard a slight 'oof'. He turned the corner just in time to see her land on her butt on the pavement.

"Ashley." The voice was almost a purr. "Fancy seeing you here." Ashley glared up at him. "Yeah. Bruce." She mocked his tone. "Fancy that." Joker's temper automatically flared. He glared over Ashley's shoulder as Bruce helped her to her feet. "Hmm, I just can't help but 'wonder' why you could possibly be here." She said in a mocking tone as she dusted herself off. So far Joker was being completely ignored. And it annoyed the piss out of him. "Well, now that you mention it. There was a little something I was hoping-" She cut him off. "Save it. I've already heard all the excuses and all the bribes and all the threats. I'm not telling you where she is! I wish the two of you would get it through you damn stubborn heads!" She yelled at him. He looked intrigued. "Two of us?" He asked. "Hmm, who ever do you mean?" She balled her hands into fists. She was just about to go off when Joker put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped. She had completely forgotten he was there.

"Now now, Ashley. You mustn't let imbeciles ruin your good mood." He said with distain. Bruce's glare was obvious. "Imbeciles?" Ashley asked astounded. "Your BOTH imbeciles. I've had it! Both of you leave me the hell alone!" She screamed before storming off. About ten seconds later she picked up on the fact that neither of them had followed, or even taken their eyes off the other. That's when she realized that Jak was Joker and Bruce was Batman and they both hated each other, and leaving them alone was not the best idea. She back tracked quickly.

"Something about you seems awfully familiar." Bruce commented. His tone was less than friendly. "I must have one of those faces." Joker answered casually taking a step forward. But his glare remained. "You must be one of Ann's 'friends'. Can't say she's ever mentioned you before." Bruce said slyly. "Well, you know her. Things tend to 'conveniently' slip her mind when she doesn't trust someone." Joker smiled.

Bruce looked like he was about to lose his cool. "Funny thing about trust-" Ashley jumped between them. "Oh look at the time. Were late. Let's go!" She said in a cheerful and entirely faked chipper voice as she pulled on Joker's arm. He shrugged her off. "No, I think Mr. Wayne was saying something. Don't be rude Ashley." He said in a reprimanding voice as he sent a glare Bruce's way. She sneered at him where only he could see. "We'd just 'hate' to give off a 'questionable' impression. Wouldn't we Jak?" She growled at him. He gave a huff and began to walk away. "Ah, Jak. That's right. I do remember her mentioning something about a pesky ex-boyfriend…" Bruce commented. Joker started to whirl on him but Ashley persisted in dragging him away as he glared over his shoulder.

"Now that you've got your way, what exactly are we late for?" Joker asked her sarcastically once they were around the corner. She glared at him. "A few minutes more and it would have been a friggin funeral." She snapped at him. "Best place to find a laugh." He mumbled. His sour mood had gotten even worse that he'd thought possible.

Obviously he wasn't the only one looking for her. Just like he figured. He'd better step up the search if he wanted to find her first.

He lagged back a bit, letting Ashley get a bit ahead of him, and waited for her to be distracted. At the first opportunity he slipped down a side ally and disappeared.

Once he made sure that troublesome pretty boy wasn't following him he trailed his way back to Ashley's apartment. As he climbed the stairs to the door he reminisced on the first time he had broken in. It was back when he had just met Ann. He had been curious. So he satisfied his curiosity. Then, just like now, all thoughts in his head eventually lead back to her.

He pulled out one of his knives and wedged it just under the latch between the door and its frame. Jamming the knife up plus pressure on the door and a slight jiggle and the door popped open.

After half an hour of going through all the paperwork in her apartment he gave up. There were no phone bills anywhere that he could find. Meaning she either had a paperless account or she got rid of them as soon as they were paid. With a scowl he left the apartment and headed back towards Misa's house. Hopefully she wasn't home.


	2. Chapter 2

~Broken: Unyielding Beast~

Chapter 2

Ann woke a bit later than she would have liked. She was supposed to be playing parent to the child in the other room and be cooking her breakfast or something. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and put on her usual attire. Instead of black jeans though, today she wore regular blue with a simple red tank top. Leaving her guns and knife on the table by the bed she stretched her arms while walking out of the room.

Something wasn't quite right. She smelled food. Looking to the kitchen she saw a plate covered by a towel. Next to it was a note. She wandered to the table and uncovered the plate as she picked up the note. Grabbing a piece of bacon she read it.

~Ann

I've gone to visit my sister. I wanted to see how she was today. Also, I decided to pick up a few things from our apartment. Please don't worry. I won't be gone long.

Reign

She crunched on the bacon, a hint of annoyance working its way up in her throat.

_Looks like the kids going to be trouble._

**Better go find her.**

_Well it is the perfect opportunity to get some cash. And its bout time I called someone to check in anyways._

Sighing in annoyance she went to her room and retrieved her effects. After covering her weapons with her leather blazer she found the keys to her motorcycle.

_And it's about damn time I took a ride._

Grabbing her helmet she strode outside and locked her door, now in a better mood thanks to the thought of driving her bike all the way across town to Saint Francis hospital.

Bruce sat at his computer, in his cave, mindlessly typing away. He had only decided to start looking for Ann a week before. He had originally decided to give her some time to process what had happened between them. Maybe let her have some space. He was sure that she would resurface soon enough. But after a whole three months he wasn't so sure anymore. At least now he knew Joker hadn't kidnapped her again, as he was pretty sure the madman was looking for her as well. Meaning he needed to find her before he did and tried manipulating and twisting everything to his own designs.

After trying his luck with Ashley, and running into a walking disaster area, he decided on a more direct approach. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere with asking nicely. And, as Ashley had implied, she had already heard all the bribes and threats. So now he knew that wouldn't work. Not that he would stoop so low anyway.

It had taken him less than an hour to hack into both Misa's and Ashley's phone records. After cross referencing that with public pay phones and any other incoming call that wasn't residential and comparing the two phone records he had a list of places she had most likely called from. Problem was she hadn't called more than once or twice from any of the numbers. And to make matters worse she hadn't called at all in the last week and a half.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. At least he knew she was ok now. He had initially been a bit worried about the whole 'knights' thing. He knew they were damn set on capturing her for themselves. But they hadn't surfaced since the last big and bloody battle. So it looked like, for the moment at least, they were leaving her alone.

The only thing left to do was wait for her to call.

~Joker's POV.

He had waited almost three hours for Misa to leave her house. He was sitting in the house across the street. Its owners, a Mr. and Mrs. Cagle, were securely gagged and tied on the floor across the room. He was getting severely impatient. But finally, an unsung hero appeared. He never thought he'd be so happy to see Maroni pull up in his car, presumably to take his girlfriend out to lunch. Joker, still dressed as Jak, groaned in relief when Misa came out to meet him and they finally drove away. He waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone before working his way across the street.

He glared at the solid looking oak door in front of him and then the dead bolt that definitively prevented him from shimmying the door open as he had done at Ashley's place. Looked like he was going to have to do it the old fashioned way. Taking a few steps back he launched his foot at the door in a front kick aimed for just above the bolt. The door moved a bit, but seemed sturdy. Another kick buckled the door in slightly. A third burst it open completely.

Hoping she didn't have a security system, he shut the door then began his ruthless barrage of the house. And he 'was' ruthless. He made sure to check everywhere. And he didn't bother being neat about it. Considering the stomp she had given his foot earlier that day, he called it even.

Ann's POV

She inhaled deeply at the fresh air that was coursing around her. Just like she was flying. She absolutely loved the feeling. 75 miles an hour on the freeway had significantly improved her mood. So far she'd got the bike up to 90 then backed off the throttle. She figured 90 was close enough to the edge for the moment. But knowing it would go even faster made her heart race. She went 75 today both for the posted speed limit, which was only 70, and for the fact that she was on a motorcycle, which was slightly more dangerous than in a car. Besides, she was in no hurry at all, and she wanted to make the feeling of freedom last as long as possible.

She had opted for the freeway for its obvious speed advantages. She honestly didn't feel like having to stop at a stop sign or a red light ever five minutes or less, even though it was shorter to cut strait through the city rather than skirt around it on the highway.

But as much as she would love to stay on the freeway, she eventually found her exit and slowed smoothly down the off ramp. Five more minutes as she was circling the outdoor covered parking lot looking for a suitable place to park. Since Reign's sister, Jasmine, was on the third floor, Ann chose a spot in the corner of the 3rd floor of the garage. Like usual she backed her bike into the spot so she could have a fairly quick getaway if necessary. She killed the engine and then slipped off her helmet and hung it on the bike's mirror. After making sure she put her keys in her pocket she headed to the parking lots bridge that joined it to the hospital.

Ann didn't like hospital's much. Something about the all too sterile smell made her uncomfortable. And not to mention the fact that most people died in hospitals. Well, they used to anyway. That all changed when Joker came along.

Contemplating her lot in life and how God must hate her she found her way back to Jasmine's room by memory. She thought about how Joker had blown up Gotham General, making Saint Francis the only other hospital in the city. She made a note never to bring that up to him. If he decided to take this one out too the entire city would be in a panic. Not that they weren't already, but the lack of a hospital definitely made her a bit uneasy. Every injured person would have to go clear to the next city with a hospital. She was unsure, but she thought the closest one was some 40 miles away. Looked like Gotham City liked its space.

She finally made it to Jasmine's room. She lightly knocked on the slightly ajar door and quietly pushed her way inside. She found Jasmine lying at a slight angle watching tv. Jasmine's face lit up at her appearance.

"It's you! Your our hero! You completely saved my life! Not to mention Reign." Jasmine commended her. Ann wasn't really used to the praise and thank the hero thing so she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Ya. I guess so." She replied before coming to have a seat next to the bed. "Any idea when they'll let you go?" Ann asked. Jasmine frowned, clearly annoyed by the subject. "They won't let me leave for at least another week! Can you believe it? It's absolutely ridiculous. They said I have to wait until my wounds are healed more. And then they tell me I shouldn't do any kind of work for a while." Ann felt sympathy for the woman. She knew exactly how she felt. She felt a slight twinge in her shoulder and rubbed the spot where Alexander's sword had pierced a hole clean through. She had healed fairly quickly, but it still bothered her from time to time. And it had left a pink puffy round scar.

Wincing visibly Ann let her sympathy show. "I know exactly how you feel." She commented. Jasmine smiled briefly. Suddenly her face lit up. "Oh, you must be here looking for Reign. You just missed her. She told me how you volunteered to look after her. I really can't thank you enough." Well at least she found out what she needed to know. "Oh that was no problem. I was a bit shocked to wake up and find her gone though." Ann commented looking out the window. "Ah, yeah. She does that sort of thing. She's really quite independent. She's smart too." Jasmine told her. Ann smirked. "Yes. She's smart alright." Ann replied. "I hope she's not too much trouble." Jasmine said worriedly. Ann shook her head. "She's no trouble at all. You just focus on getting better." She reassured the woman. Jasmine smiled.

A comfortable silence formed between them. Ann really did like the younger woman. She was a bit proud of her for taking on her younger sister the way she did. And through everything she was still all smiles. If only everyone could have an attitude like hers.

"Actually, since Reign isn't here, would you mind if I used your phone? I've kind of been hanging off the grid for a while and I need to check in with someone." Ann explained. "Ah, so your hiding from someone too?" It didn't occur to Ann that the woman probably knew exactly how the feeling was. Jasmine smiled. "Sure. Take all the time you need." Ann thanked her before making her way across the room to the phone. She dialed Ashley's cell phone first.

"Hello?" Came the inquisitive but perky voice. "Hey." Ann said simply. She held the phone away from her ear in preparation for the upcoming squeals and excited high pitched babble. She was glad she did. After a minute or two her blabber died down and Ann was finally able to talk. "How have things been?" "Oh my God! Jok- I mean 'Jak' will NOT leave me alone! He's been driving me absolutely crazy." She confessed. Ann pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ya, I figured that. What's he done now?" She asked with a sigh. "Well he almost got into a fight on the street with Bruce, who just so happened to show up when Jak was following me. Besides that he pays me a visit almost every day trying to bribe or threaten me. He's been making Devon work around the clock hoping I'll cave for some time with him. And, Ann, I think he broke into my apartment this morning."

Ann almost blanched. But she kept her cool. "What do you think he was looking for?" She asked. "I dunno. He didn't take anything." She confessed. "Probably just looking for information or something. Hah. Not like he'd find anything." Ashley commented smugly. Ann suppressed her urge to strangle something. "You mentioned he got in a fight with Bruce?" She asked. "Oh, no. I managed to pull him away before either of them lost it. Came pretty close though." She replied. Ann groaned. "When did Bruce start looking for me?" She asked. There was a moment of silence. "Well, today was the first time I've seen him since you left." She confessed. Ann nodded. "Okay. I'll call you later and we can try to figure something out. We need to do something about Jak." Ashley agreed and they hung up. Ann made sure she was specific in saying be careful.

Next up she needed to call Misa.

Bruce's POV

He still refused to leave the computer console. It was set to beep if there was any activity. At the moment he had fallen asleep in his chair with his feet propped up on the console and his head leaned back in the chair. A light tap on his shoulder woke him with a start and he nearly fell out of the chair. "Alfred? What-" Alfred laughed at his half sleep stupor before pointing to the screen. "It's been going off for about ten minutes now sir. I thought you might want a look." Shocked Bruce jumped to look at the monitor. He traced the number to Saint Francis Hospital. Room number 346. Leaping out of the chair he ran for garage. "The Lamborghini sir?" Alfred called after him. No reply. Of course he wouldn't take the Lamborghini. He'd be taking his bike.

Joker's POV

He had officially gone through every room in the house. He had literally torn the house completely apart. There was nowhere left to look. He even ripped open the couch and chairs just for good measure and thrown the stuffing around the house. Out of spite he took a giant wad of it and soaked it before stuffing it into the freezer. He felt slightly like a child throwing a temper tantrum. But he didn't care at the moment. It made him feel better. He was just about to go find more creative places to shove the stuffing when the phone rang. Curious he smoothly picked his way to the receiver, now grateful he hadn't thrown it somewhere in his rage. The caller ID told him it was calling from the hospital. If he decoded the number correctly it was room number… 346. Now more curious he picked up the phone but didn't say anything, hoping the caller would reveal themselves.

"Hello? Misa?" Ann's crystal clear voice struck him like a ton of bricks. He was speechless for a moment before he got his wits about him. Afraid she would hang up he purred into the receiver. "Hello precious."

Ann's POV

She was shocked. The second his voice purred to her through the phone her spine went rigid and shivers ran up her back. She forced herself to get over her shock quickly. "Jak. Does Misa know your ransacking her home?" She asked stoically. His laugh was like a drug. Her mind was threatening to shut down. "I'm sure she'll have a not so pleasant surprise when she comes home." His voice was like ice. "I've heard you've been making quite a fuss over me." She told him. She could hear the anger in his voice. "Can you blame a man? When his woman decides to disappear out of the blue after I'm hit in the head with a baseball bat by a bat?" He commented. "I told you perfectly clear why I was leaving last time I saw you." She shot back, anger rising in her tone. "I was hit with a bat, by a bat. Does that not concern you!" She sighed. "You were pinning me to the bed with my katana sheath while I was kicking and screaming. Not my fault they thought you were raping me." She heard something breakable crash through the phone. She winced. Poor Misa.

"Can you at least stop punishing Misa? She didn't cause any of this. You did." She told him. His laugh echoed through the phone. "Oh, no. No no no. See, ah, she stomped a heel in my toe this morning and this is my, ah, revenge." She was beginning to really get scared. He wasn't talking to her like normal now. He was talking like she had heard him talk to his victims. Like she had heard over the radio and on tv. But never to her. She shook off the sudden scare and lashed back at him. "Look, you know why I'm mad. But I either figure out a way to get past your man crush on batman or you find a way to put me first for once. Those are the options. And until that happens, nothings changing."

It was silent and it put her on edge yet again. "See that's the thing though. You didn't just disappear after our fight…. No, you. You went back to that ba-_t_." She was afraid now. She would actually admit it at this point. But she covered quickly. "I didn't have anywhere else to go! You were in my friggin apartment! With your drunken self, slinging your left over pizza and your beer all over the place! You tell me. Hmm? Where else was there for me to go?" She was seething. All this was his fault! Why couldn't he just let her alone to clear it all up in her head?

It was silent for a moment again. "You could have stayed."

"No, Jak. I couldn't. Not if I wanted to keep at least a part of myself. You took all the choices away from me. You took all of me. Well I took it back. I have a right to be myself. And I don't care who you are or how much I care for you. I can't be me if your always trying to control me."

"Your right. It's too late to change you leaving. But you have to know, love. If you keep playing this game of hide and seek, eventually I WILL find you. I'm a man of my wor-_d._"

It was all too creepy. The way he was talking to her made her feel like the victim. A mouse in his game. He had to know he was scaring her. That's what he was trying to do. She told herself to stay calm. She could hear more stuff breaking in the background. An idea popped into her head. And if it worked, he'd start focusing on his idea of a game with her instead of focusing on how pissed off he was. She held the phone against her chest. "Do you have a cell phone?" She quickly whispered to Jasmine. She frowned and nodded pointing to a purse in the chair next to her. She mouthed a thank you before finding the phone in Jasmine's purse.

She dialed 911 on the other phone. "911. What's your emergency?" The operator asked in a professional voice. "Yes. I live at 2214 South Osage. And I think my neighbor is being robbed!" She told the woman. "I think it's the Joker. He's wearing a purple suit and make up. But I didn't get a good look at him." She told them in hushed tones. "Okay ma'am. The police are on their way, what's your neighbor's address?" The woman asked. "It's 2216 South Osage. Please hurry." She hung up the cell then went back Joker's phone.

"Jak, I know your angry with me. But if you feel that strongly about the whole thing, you should really do something about it. I told you what had to happen for me to come back to you."

"Oh, _believe me_ gorgeous. I'll find you sooner than you think. And when I win your little game, you'll be, ah, 'begging me' all over again." Another shiver ran up her back and an all too familiar ache lodged itself in her groin.

She pulled herself together. She could panic once she was off the phone with him. "Well you better get started then 'sugar' cause you don't have much time before they get there…." She swooned. Silence. Did he already leave?

"They?" Came the slightly annoyed question. "Mmhmm. That's right. Oh, you can't hear the sirens yet? I think your slippin 'babe'."

A moment of slightly shocked silence.

"You didn't."

"Oh, I did."

"Minx."

And he was gone. The phone left off the hook. She hung up the phone and did a nervous pace in a circle around the room, trying to process what to do now. He was coming here. To find her. And she knew he knew where she was. Shit was an understatement.

But she relaxed slightly after a moment. He was at Misa's place. On the complete opposite end of town. And the cops would be hot on him for a bit. It'd be awhile before he got here. She ran her hands through her hair trying to think.

"Okay, here's the deal, Jas. Your probably going to get a visitor. And most likely he won't be all that happy. Try to get them to move you to a different room. If they won't then he'll show up looking for me. And no matter what happens or who it is you have to act like you have no idea who I was. Just say that a random red head came in your room and asked to borrow your phone, okay? If he thinks I don't know you then he won't try to use you to get to me." Ann managed to slow her speech a bit. But she was very anxious to be away from the hospital.

"Okay. But I really don't see the problem. Can't security just throw him out?" Jasmine asked, a little amused by Ann's chaotic state. "You don't 'know' this man. Look, you might be a bit surprised by who it is that comes looking for me. But trust me. You have to act like you honestly have no idea who I am. Can you do that? If you don't you could get seriously hurt." Ann explained. Jasmine nodded. "Ok, I promise, they won't even have a suspicion." Ann nodded. "Okay. I have to go now. I need to find Reign." Jasmine nodded and hollered a hasty 'good luck' as Ann hurried out of the room.

By the time she had reached her bike she had calmed down quite a bit. Especially now that she was actually to her bike. She could be gone in 3 seconds flat if she needed to be.

She let her heart beat get under control before she stepped onto her bike and fired it up. Putting on the helmet she clipped it securely before easing her bike towards the exit ramp of the covered parking lot. By the time she was on the ground floor she was completely under control of herself again.

She pulled out onto the road and smoothly coasted down the street. She smiled smugly. Even if he had somehow made it there by now, he'd never recognize her in the helmet. He didn't even know she owned a bike, thanks to Bruce.

The light ahead of her turned red and she coasted to a stop. A couple seconds later she notice a blue blur come up to the light from the right. Getting a closer look she realized it was a blue Ducati. And sitting on it was none other than the man himself…

Bruce.

Shit.

She whined to herself. It looked like Bruce was one step ahead of Joker. He hadn't even been looking for her a full day and he'd already found her. She just hoped he wouldn't notice her. But that was impossible now, as the light had turned green, allowing her to drive right past him. She checked her mirrors. Sure enough, he turned behind her after she went by.

The last thing on earth she wanted to do right now was face Bruce. She'd rather have to deal with Joker than confront Bruce. She wasn't exactly afraid of Bruce like she sort of was with Jak. She knew Bruce would never hurt her. But truthfully, she was more afraid of the conflicting feeling she had for Bruce. And he had a way of breaking down her barriers that made things difficult.

If he was here, now, it meant that he was finally at the end of his patience and wanted answers from her. Answer's that she simply didn't have to give.

She accelerated, weaving in and out of the traffic, hoping he would get stuck behind someone. But it was soon apparent that that wasn't about to happen. He kept up with her easily. Probably because the motor in his Ducati was significantly bigger and better than her little Kawasaki.

He pulled up next to her in her lane, forcing her to move over or be hit. "Pull over!" He yelled out across to her and motioned for her to go off to the side. He didn't have a helmet on. Just his sun glasses. So it was pretty obvious what he wanted. She glared at him through the lens of her helmet, even though she knew he couldn't see her face. She promptly flipped him off before braking hard and cornering sharply to the right onto a side road. She knew it wouldn't keep him off her for long. But she had to try.

It wasn't even a minute before he pulled up next to her again. "It's a 1098! You can't out run me, Ann. Just pull over!" He yelled. Nope, she definitely couldn't out run him. And out maneuvering him was unlikely. He had been riding for years. And she was all of a beginner. She was seriously screwed. There was only one way she was going to lose him. She was going to have to do something crazy.

Gritting her teeth she flew through random ideas. Short of ramping over a building she couldn't think of any. But then she remembered the 9th street draw bridge. And she was already headed that direction now, thanks to Bruce. Unfortunately, Misa's home was also in that direction. But the chances of running into Jak were slim to none now. And he wouldn't be looking for a bike anyway. So she accelerated.

By the time she reached 9th street she had finished working through her plan. She could see a barge coming into the harbor off to the left. If she could time it just right and keep Bruce far enough behind her she might be able to ramp it where he either couldn't or wouldn't follow. The last block before the bridge she would hang a right and go all the way around. Since her bike was lighter she could corner better, or so she hoped. If she was right she should be far enough ahead of him to lose him when she jumped.

It didn't look likely that he was going to give up any other way. He wasn't riding right next to her anymore. But he was hanging back just behind her and to the side.

Her plan was solid. That is, until that annoying human element decided to show up. And it was in the form of a cop. And they were currently doing 30 over the posted speed limit. As predicted, the cop pulled out of his little hiding spot, flipped on his lights, and got right up behind them. Ann groaned. That was just perfect.

Bruce pulled up beside her. "Pull over! It's just a speeding ticket. You keep going and we'll be in jail." He told her. At least that answered the question of whether or not he would pull over without her.

They reached the turn before the bridge. She braked sharply and angled to the right like before. Behind her Bruce braked and almost got rear-ended by the cop who slammed on the brakes too. She went around the block in the same fashion. But Bruce did something unexpected. He cut through the ally and came out of it just after she passed him. Ahead of her the bridge was raising and she gave it all it had.

She didn't hesitate as the bridge rose to half its full height. She dropped two gears and gunned it for all it was worth. Hoping with everything that he didn't decide to follow her, she hit the ramp of the bridge. Time seemed to stand still for a moment. Glancing down she could see the water below and the barge coming up from the side. She held her breath as she rose over the top of the bridge. But there was yet another problem, she realized. As the other side came into view so did a street full of red and blue flashing lights. The cop pursuing them must have called for reinforcements and they got stuck as the bridge raised. And they were lined up no more than five feet from the end of the bridge. She wouldn't have room to stop.

Already cringing, she forced herself to remain calm and not tense up as her back tire touched the bridge. The front tire touched down a second later at a slight angle. She struggled for another second to keep the bike in control. The instant she had it she slammed on both front and back brakes as hard as she could. The bike skidded sideways and she leaned uphill against it as it slowed. Everything was surreal. The bike was headed straight for one of the police cars parked in her way.

There was nothing she could do about it now. She closed her eyes and prayed for the best. Seconds later her bike skidded to a halt. But there was no huge crash and bang like she expected. Opening her eyes she looked to her side to see she had stopped mere inches from the car.

She looked back just in time to see Bruce's bike land just like hers had. She imagined her face looked a lot like his did. He let out a long 'shit!' As he slammed on his brakes just like she had done. He skidded sideways and leaned. A second later she realized he was headed straight for her. Her eyes shot wide and she gunned her bike forward a few feet and got out of the way just in time as he skidded to a halt in the spot she had just been.

She put her bike in neutral with a huge sigh and looked back at him. He was clinched up as stiff as could be, grasping the handle bars has hard as imaginable. But his eyes were closed and his face was calm and serene, almost like he was trying to picture himself somewhere else.

After a few seconds he opened his eyes and sent a glare her way as he raise his hands and put them over his head. For a second she didn't know what he was doing. Then she looked around her and realized that every cop in the area had their guns leveled on the two of them.

"Well, I hope your happy." He commented as she slowly raised her hands like he had. She 'distinctly' wanted to tell him just how unhappy she was.


	3. Chapter 3

Broken: Unyielding Beast

Chapter 3

Joker was probably in the worst mood of his life as he stared up at the entrance to Saint Francis hospital. He was undoubtedly much too late to actually catch her here. She was already long gone. Luckily, he was an expert at attaining information. Especially from people who were reluctant to give it.

Her damsel in distress call to the police had significantly annoyed him, as the police had arrived just as he was about to dash out of the house. This forced him to go through the back yard to get away. And this led to him jumping several fences and running through several other back yards. And of course there was an annoying rat of a dog in one who absolutely couldn't stop broadcasting his location to everyone in hearing distance.

He had debated taking the time to change into his usual attire, but ultimately the eagerness to have information won out over the prospect of scaring an entire hospital into submission. And this would give him the opportunity to acquire what he needed faster and easier.

He walked into the hospital and used the clearly posted directions on the walls to find the correct room. He found room 346 fairly easily. The door was left half way open so he peeked inside.

There was an unusually pale woman with long dark hair reclining in the hospital provided bed. She looked to be watching tv. He took a moment to decide how to play this. The woman may know nothing at all, in which case he would have to figure out if she was lying. But more than likely she had something useful for him to go on. If she did know Ann, his lovely would have most likely warned her against anyone strange asking about her. Thinking through this he knew exactly how to play the woman to his advantage. And if it didn't work he could always come back dressed in purple and wave a knife in her face.

He softly knocked on the door and pushed it open slightly. As she looked at him he noticed an automatic reaction in her. She smiled. He recognized it as some sort of defense mechanism. "Hi." She said cheerily. He faked hesitancy as he entered. "I'm sorry. I think I must have come to the wrong place." He said. "Oh. I'm sorry. Were you looking for someone?" She asked. A faked look of pain spread across his face. "My sister. Her friend told me I might find her here." He told her. "Oh, well I've been in this room a few days. Maybe they moved her." At least that cleared up the question as to whether or not Ann was a patient. "Well the thing is I'm not sure if she was admitted here or if she was visiting someone. Maybe you could help me?" He asked. He caught a flash of a warning bell going off in her mind as her expression changed suddenly. "I can try." She replied.

He came all the way in the room. "Well, it's a bit difficult to explain. I haven't seen my sister in a few years. We had a falling out at our family's Christmas party awhile back and haven't spoken since. But I got a call from one of her friends a few days ago. She told me that Ann had gotten mixed up with an incredibly possessive guy that was dangerous. She was afraid for her safety and asked if I could help her." He explained.

"Oh, well why don't you call her?" The woman asked. He frowned sadly. "She won't take my calls. I'm afraid she might get hurt. I just need to talk to her in person." He said morosely. The woman looked back at him sadly. "Oh. Um, well she asked me not to tell anyone I knew her. Maybe if I could see some kind of proof that you're her brother?" She asked. Ahah. He had her. "Sure. I don't really have anything substantial. But I can tell you everything about her. Her birthday is July 7th, she loves leather, she's slightly reserved and doesn't like to really talk a lot unless she's stressed and figuring out a problem, she drives a 1969 Camaro that she restored herself, she enjoys martial arts-" "Okay." The woman said laughing. "I believe you. Your sister's a hero. She saved my life! I guess it makes sense that she'd be a martial artist. But I'm afraid I don't really know that much that could help. I know she lives close to the diner where I work." She explained. He smiled. "Anything will help."

~Ann's POV~

Ann was sitting in the same jail cell she and Ashley had shared several months earlier. Bruce sat on the bench in the cell next to her, separated by the metal bars. They had shared a ride in the back of a police car with a matching set of shiny bracelets after being promised to get everything the 'book' had to throw at them. And they were refusing to give them a bail. She wasn't worried about it. Once Gordon came in he would understand what happened and let them out. But he most likely wouldn't be back in until morning. It was sufficiently freezing inside the jail. She had used her phone call to call Reign and tell her she was probably going to be away till tomorrow.

She wrapped her arms around herself and curled her knees up to her chest. So far Bruce hadn't said a word to her. She could tell he was fairly angry with her. She was just waiting for him to figure out what he wanted to say. She knew she probably had it coming.

"You ramped the bridge." He finally spoke. She glanced at him. "So did you." She pointed out.

"I can't believe you ramped the bridge." He told her without looking her direction. "I can't believe you followed me." She told him.

He slowly turned his head to look at her. "Well if you had just pulled over I wouldn't have had to." He told her with a glare. "You jumped the damned bridge."

She glared back. "Well if you hadn't been chasing me I wouldn't have jumped it." She told him angrily. "Well if you hadn't run away I wouldn't have chased you." He shot back.

"Well if you hadn't confused me I wouldn't have run away!" She yelled at him. He sighed. "I'm sorry. It was my fault. Does that make it any better? If I just say it was all my fault?" He asked.

She glanced back at him. "No."

He bowed his head and ran his hands through his hair. "What would make it better then?" He asked.

"I… I dunno." She told him.

Silence.

After a minute he sighed and took off his heavy leather jacket before handing it to her through the bars. She hesitated a moment before reaching out and taking it. True, she had been allowed to keep her jacket, but it was thin and didn't offer much protection from the cold. She smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks." "Your welcome."

She slipped the jacket on and wrapped it around her legs. She could smell his cologne mixed with leather. "I'm sorry I got you arrested. Again. I just… I just wanted to see you." He told her.

She smiled back at him. "It's okay. I can't really be mad at you for getting me thrown in jail this time. I could have stopped."

The sound of a metal door opening and closing echoed through the jail. Ann watched as a cop walked passed her cell. "Hey! Call Gordon!" She yelled at him. He ignored her and kept walking. She gave a huff of annoyance. Bruce laughed at her attempt. She shot him a glare. But before she could retaliate there was another bang of the door. A few seconds later Commissioner Gordon walked in. Apparently no one had informed him they were the ones who caused the trouble. He blanched the moment he saw the pair of them.

"Ann? What did you-? And after I just finished praising you as a reliable guardian…." He trailed off. Bruce gave her a funny look as she jumped up. "It's not my fault! He was chasing me!" She accused as she pointed in Bruce's direction. Gordon looked at the man behind her. Bruce was a bit wide eyed and didn't really know what to say.

Gordon's look turned apprehensive. "I see." He muttered. Bruce, who was now standing, crossed his arms. "It wasn't her fault. I did chase her." He admitted. Gordon sighed. "Your supposed to keep her 'out' of trouble." Gordon commented as he thumbed through his keys, looking for the right one.

Once he found the correct key he opened the doors and the both of them stepped out of their cells. "Thanks Commissioner." She smiled gratefully. "Mmhmm. Just be more, um, choice conscious about how you drive from now on. Okay?" She nodded. "And you, I don't even know what to say to you." Speaking to Bruce. "You- oh just go. I swear it's like raising teenagers." He walked out muttering to himself.

Ann winced, but Bruce looked unfazed. Not really knowing what else to do, so she let Bruce escort her back through the police station. The man at the checkout area gave her back her guns and knife. She was about to walk out when she noticed the man give Bruce back his wallet, cell phone, and what looked like a knife that he slid into the pocket of the coat that she was still wearing. Then he guided her out into the open street. Once outside, in the fading sun, it was much warmer. She slipped off the heavy leather jacket and gratefully handed it back to Bruce. He smirked as he took back the jacket. But as he did he wrapped his free arm around her. He pulled her into a warm hug. She hesitated, stiff and unsure.

"I didn't know you carried a knife." She told him a bit awkwardly as he kissed the top of her head and let her go. "I didn't know you carried those guns." He replied as they walked around the corner to the impound lot. She was in the process of putting them back into her holsters. He stopped and waited for her as she propped her foot on the side of the building so she could put the second gun back in the hidden holster on her ankle. She didn't notice, but as she did so it gave him a very nice view of her butt. He leaned over ever so slightly as his eyebrows rose.

She pulled her pants leg back over the holster and turned back to look at him just as he straightened and looked away. She shot a glare his way as he glanced back at her and they continued walking. "Were you just staring at my ass?" She asked in a disbelieving voice. He looked back at her like he had just noticed she was there. "What?" He asked. She gave him a look of disbelief. "You were ogling my ass!" She exclaimed, earning a few looks from passersby. He smirked before leaning over to whisper in her ear. "Darling, I've seen you naked. I hardly think staring at your ass would be offensive." He told her before walking on ahead of her. She balked. "Darling?" He smirked back at her as he walked up to the little booth outside the gates to the impound lot and started talking to the officer on duty. She glared daggers at his back before joining him at the window.

"Are you the two who jumped a bridge on motorcycles?" The man asked as she tuned into the conversation. Bruce glanced back at Ann over his shoulder. "That'd be us." He said. The man smiled. "One of the guys got it on video. You wanna see it?" He asked. Bruce's eyebrows rose slightly. "He got it on video?" He asked in disbelief. The man nodded and handed Bruce his cell phone. It had a video playing on it. Ann stood on her tip toes to look over his shoulder. Sure enough. The video just barely caught Ann at the top of her jump and ended with the two of them raising their hands at gun point. "Can you send that to me?" Ann asked, slightly proud of herself for not screaming like Bruce had. Bruce glared at her a moment before handing the phone back. "Oh, it's all over youtube." The man told them. Ann's eyes widened. "What?" She asked. "It's on the news too." He told her. Beside her Bruce closed his eyes and sighed deeply, obviously in an attempt to control his annoyance.

Ann grinned at him. "Um, sorry?" She told Bruce. He looked back at her in a way that said he didn't believe she really was.

They each had to pay a little over $500 to retrieve their motorcycles. Ann didn't have the cash so she was forced to charge it to her credit card. Bruce had done the same. After they had paid the officer gave them their keys and opened the locked gate for them to go inside.

They found their bikes at the back of the lot parked neatly next to each other. There wasn't a single scratch. Ann was relieved. As she was about to start her bike Bruce stopped her by putting his hand over hers. "Come to dinner tonight." He said. He wasn't so much asking or telling her. But the look in his eyes was pleading her to say yes. "Bruce, everyone thinks I left to avoid Joker. But you know that was only part of it. I left because I was confused." She told him. "Just give it a chance." He asked her.

She gave it a moment of thought. "Nothing serious. It's just dinner." He told her. She thought back to Reign wanting to meet both Bruce and Joker. She definitely wasn't going to meet Joker anytime soon if she had anything to say about it. But…

"Okay, but can I bring a friend?" She asked. He gave her a funny look. "A friend? Ann we hardly need a chaperone." He commented. She shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I've been taking care of a kid." She told him. An enlightened look spread across his face. "So that's what Gordon meant." She nodded. "The girl's parents were killed in a car crash years ago. Her sister, who ran off with her illegally, was mugged and shot. I just happen to hear the gun go off and got there just in time to save the both of them." Ann explained. "Okay, well bring her along. I'm sure she's lovely." Ann smirked. "Okay." She told him and nodded. He smiled. "Then it's a date." He said cheerfully before starting his bike.

_Wait. A date?_

Bruce left with a smile on his face and Ann was now a bit concerned. She knew Jak had probably gone to the hospital looking for information about her. She worried about Jasmine. But she was sure if he had done anything horrible she would have noticed some kind of activity from the police while she had been held prisoner. So she drove home, hoping to find Reign there and not out somewhere else.

~Joker's POV~

He had been watching the diner for close to an hour, hoping to get lucky and catch her drive by or go in to eat. He and Devon were in one of his vans down the street. Devon, of course, was angry about having been dragged into more drama involving Ann. He was irritable, tired, and hungry. Joker had been on his ass constantly ever since Ann had disappeared, hoping to glean information from his blonde girlfriend. Sniper was camped on the roof of a semi-high building a block away watching the parts of the area that Joker and Devon couldn't see.

It was nearly dinner time and the small diner was packed with customers. There was plenty of traffic, but no sign of Ann or her precious Camaro. Joker was getting impatient. He still felt that the kid knew something he wasn't sharing with him. He was sure the blonde must have shared something 'anything' significant with her faithful boyfriend. He had been hassling the boy for most of the time spent in the van.

"I told you already. I don't know anything." Devon said for the billionth time. "I'll find her eventually. If you would help it would all be over faster." Joker reasoned. He had yet to lose his composure during the current encounter with Devon. But he was losing his patience with him fast. "It's never 'over' with you. You can't leave well enough alone." Devon told him, looking out the window. "What makes it worse is she's just as damn stubborn as you are. It's like a circle that keeps going round and round, sucking up anyone and anything that gets too close."

Joker crossed his arms over his chest. "I have to say, being compared to some kind of destructive tropical storm is flattering." He said vainly. Devon sent a glare his way. "It wasn't a compliment you twisted clown."

A motorcycle came around the corner catching his attention. The driver accelerated past and disappeared down the road. Joker looked back to Devon to see his eyes had gone wide for a split second as he watched the bike go by. "Someone you know?" Joker asked, slightly interested in Devon's reaction. Devon glanced back at him before swallowing. "I just thought I saw my ex. That's all." Joker studied him a moment longer. But was unable to tell if he had been lying. "Interesting."

~Ann's POV~

She parked her bike in the garage and walked up to her door. She listened at the door for a moment before unlocking it and entering. She found Reign in the living room watching an old Bugs Bunny carton. "Have you eaten dinner yet?" Ann asked as she dropped her coat in the chair and started taking off her gun holster. Reign shook her head. "Good. I've got a surprise for you." She told the girl as she wandered to her bedroom in search of something to wear to dinner. Reign jumped to her feet and followed her into her room. "What is it?" She asked excitedly. Ann smiled at her over her shoulder as she dug through her closet. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?" Reign jumped up to sit on the bed, pouting.

Ann gave in to her girly side and found a sheik black dress with silver trim that came down to just below her knees. She spun around holding the dress to her body. "What do you think? Is it too….girly?" Ann asked, showing Reign the dress. "I guess that depends on what your going to be doing in it." Reign said. "Touché. I'm kind of going on a date. And your coming with me." Ann told her. Reign wore a confused look on her face. "I'm coming with you on a date? Ya, that's not weird." She said sarcastically. Ann rolled her eyes. "It's not weird. It's part of your surprise." Ann told her. "Now what about the dress?" She redirected the conversation. Reign seemed to study it a moment as it hung in front of Ann. "Well, if it's for a date it looks good." The girl told her. Ann suppressed her slight annoyance. "But is it too girly for me?" She asked. Reign scratched her neck. "I don't even understand your question. It's a dress your wearing on a date. Isn't it supposed to be a bit girly?" She asked. "Well yeah. I guess. I just don't want to overdo it. I don't like looking like a primped up Barbie doll." Ann explained. Reign smiled. "In that case, your good. Doesn't look like anything a primped up Barbie would wear." Reign replied. Ann smile. "Awesome."

"If it's a dinner date then you better hurry and get ready. It's getting kind of late." The girl said as she hopped off the bed and made her way to the adjourning bathroom to brush her hair and was parting it in preparation for her pig tails. Ann smirked and waited for the girl to finish. Once Reign was done Ann undressed and stepped into the shower. She had just come from jail after all. She made quick work of shampooing her hair and shaving her legs and was done in an amazing 25 minutes, which impressed her. She towel dried her hair until it was only damp before retrieving her dress and pulling it on. She found a pair of shiny black heels in her closet and strapped them on before going back to the mirror and brushing out her hair and continuing to dry it. She parted her hair on the side, giving it an attractive flare, and then put on some grey eye shadow and eye liner. She topped it with mascara, and then she was finally ready.

She stepped out of the bathroom to find Reign in the living room. "How do I look?" She asked, a bit apprehensive. Reign's face it up. "You look wonderful!" She exclaimed. Ann smiled.

Ann and Reign arrived at Bruce's mansion close to half an hour later. Ann was nervous at first about arriving too late, but he had never really specified a time. So she tried to forget about it. And it wasn't like she hadn't dated Bruce before. It's just that this time they were both themselves, with nothing left to hide. This time they actually knew each other. True, they had known each other's secrets for a while. And they had spent a lot of time together since then. But since they had discovered each other's dirty little secrets, she had done her damndest to avoid any kind of situation like that with him. And here she was, walking right in to the exact situation she had been trying to avoid.

These thoughts floated through her head as she walked up the stairs towards the door. Reign followed her with a bounce in her step. Ann knew she was a smart girl. She had likely figured out who Ann was going on a date with, and was excited about meeting him.

As usual, the door opened before she could bother knocking. Alfred stood on the other side of the doorway. He smiled warmly at her. "Nice to see you again miss Ann." He told her. Alfred smiled at Reign before kneeling down and offering to shake her hand. "And who is this beautiful young lady?" He asked nicely. "Alfred this is Reign. She's been staying with me the last few days." Ann explained. "This is Alfred, Reign." Ann told her smiling. Reign seemed encouraged by Ann's smile and shook Alfred's hand. "It's nice to meet you." She told him sweetly.

After their introduction, Alfred led them up a flight of stairs to the same dining room Bruce had dined her at back before she knew who he really was. The same table was in the same place, sitting just inside the open door to the balcony that looked out over the property. Bruce was there, standing on the balcony looking out into the night. He turned at their arrival and flashed her one of those one in a million smiles that people rarely saw.

Just like every other time she saw him, her eyes couldn't help but wandering up and down his body. He was wearing his black slacks with a white button up shirt. He left the top few buttons open to give her a slight glimpse of his chest. Any lesser woman would have swooned over him in an instant. And she was having a hard time keeping herself from doing just that.

At seeing him, Reign's eyes lit up. She hopped up and down next to Ann in excitement. "It's really him! I'm meeting Bruce Wayne! Thank you thank you thank you!" She exclaimed to Ann as Bruce walked over to greet them.

"Bruce, this is Reign. Reign this is Bruce Wayne." Ann said calmly. Like Alfred, Bruce knelt down to her eye level with a smile. "Hi Reign. It's nice to meet you." He told her. Reign beamed up at him. "Nice to meet you too." She said happily.

He was charming. He must have really been trying to impress her tonight. And it was working. He stood back up and held his hand out for Ann to take. She hesitated again. But after a moment she placed her hand in his. He kissed her knuckles before guiding her to the table and pulling out her chair for her.

Reign sat to her left and Bruce sat across from her. Bruce was idly conversing with Reign about her interests and Ann was sipping her wine, listening. Reign seemed to be delighted to meet Gotham's number one play boy. If only the girl knew the truth about him like she did. She'd be doubly excited.

A few minutes into the conversation Alfred arrived with dinner. An expertly cooked filet minion with a side of portabella sautéed mushrooms and what looked like fiesta corn. Ann smiled up at Bruce at seeing the steak. He had remembered her favorite cuisine.

"You look beautiful Ann." Bruce commented. She smiled back at him. "Thank you." She replied. "So how did you guys meet?" Reign asked from beside her. Ann and Bruce exchanged a look. Ann could tell he was remembering the scenario on the roof tops where she had escaped Batman by climbing through a small window. It seemed like years ago. Bruce smiled at her. "Like usual, she took me by surprise. She beat me in a game that I didn't even know I was playing." He told the girl. "It seems like, no matter what I do, she's always one step out of my reach."

Ann blushed slightly at the double sided meaning in his words. And his insinuation that she played games didn't sit too well with her. Bruce took a bite of his steak in a way that made her feel like he was suggesting something with his actions. Ann took a deep breath to keep her composure as she picked at her mushrooms. Reign looked confused, glancing back and forth at the both of them, obviously wondering what she had missed.

The girl took it in stride, probably resolving to ask Ann about it later, and smiled. "I've missed you." Bruce said suddenly from across the table. "How have you been?" He asked. She was taken slightly off guard. But she nodded. "I've been okay." She told him. "Honestly it's been kind of boring the last few months. Going to libraries to access computers and pay phones to call my friends. I don't like it." She confessed. He gave a halfhearted smirk. "Well, at least it keeps you safe." He commented. "I can't imagine today could have been boring for you. I've said it before, you attract trouble lie the plague."

"I suppose I can be a bit reckless." She stated, annoyed. Realization struck Reign. "That was you?! You were the two that jumped the bridge!" She exclaimed. "I knew I'd seen that bike before. It was yours!" Ann finished off the wine in her glass. She could tell this part of the conversation wouldn't be fun. Bruce seemed amuse by her annoyance. "We hardly planned for it to be recorded and put on the news." Ann mumbled. Bruce laughed. "To be technical, we didn't plan it at all." He commented.

Reign glanced back at Ann. "That's your problem, you know that. You don't plan anything." The girl told her. They had had this conversation before, briefly. "If I took the time to plan everything out I'd make myself crazy. Predicting things just doesn't work for me. It's easier to adjust for the situation and then compensate for it." Ann told her.

"You see her point though, Ann. You can't deny that half the reason you get into bad situations is because you don't have a backup plan." Bruce commented. She glared at him. "And the other half would be because people can't seem to leave me alone." She mumbled. He rubbed his neck in a slightly embarrassed way. "Touché."

"The two of you fight like an old married couple." Reign said, half to herself. This earned an amused smile from Bruce and an annoyed glare from Ann.

The rest of dinner went by rather quickly. When they were finished eating Bruce offered to take Reign on a tour of the mansion. It was already dark outside, so he could only really show her the inside. Ann patiently walked after the two of them as Bruce walked Reign through the large building. He'd stop every so often to explain part of the architecture, or to tell a story of how he came upon a particular work of art. Reign was impressed, and she marveled at the art that he had on display in many of the hallways and side rooms. Ann marveled at many of them also. Though she had spent a lot of time in the mansion, she had never really explored it like she had always wanted to. She had generally kept to the few rooms she frequented. So seeing more of the place was enjoyable. She found it interesting to see the things he had collected and cared for before he was Batman.

Before long Reign began to look very tired. A glance at a nearby grandfather clock told her it was already 11pm. Reign, of course, denied being anything close to tired. But both Ann and Bruce could see through her act. Once Ann voiced it, Bruce agreed that they should probably go. But not before he offered for them to stay there. Ann refused, mainly on principle.

As Ann was about to follow Reign down the stairs to the car Bruce lightly held her arm. She turned he smiled at her. "Just keep in touch, okay?" She smiled slightly. "Okay." He leaned in to place a chaste kiss on the lips before letting her go. He watched from the doorway as she descended the steps and got into her car.

~Joker's POV~

After another hour of sitting in the van he had resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to catch a glimpse of her, at least not this night. He had left Sniper behind, comfortably perched on his rooftop vantage point, just in case she happen to drive by. While his favorite pot shot lackey was doing his dirty work, Joker had gone to oversee something he had been working through his head for a while. He was getting damn tired of this game of hide and seek. If he couldn't find her, he was just going to have to make her come to him, or be brought to him tied and gagged by every citizen in Gotham.

He giggled at the thought. He knew she would come of her own free will. She had too much pride to hide from him after he put all his thoughts into action and she heard of it. She also had too much pride to let herself be dragged kicking and screaming to his door. Come to think of it, it might do her some good. But that would only happen if she refused to come to him herself. For a moment he hoped that her stubborn side won out over her pride. He smiled at the thought.

No sooner had he finished that thought his phone rang.

~Sniper's POV~

It was cold. Unbelievably cold at the top of the building he was perched upon. The wind whipped around him, threatening to blow him away if he were to be careless. He sat against the outdoor components of an air conditioner unit that was several feet back from the ledge of the building. His 50 caliber rifle sat on its bi-pod at the edge just to his left. Just in case. A high powered pair of binoculars used for spotting targets allowed him to view the entire area near the diner when he wanted to look things over. This allowed him to keep tabs on the area without having to move from his spot and look through his rifle.

He sighed and wrapped the jacket he wore tighter around his body. He was contemplating falling asleep when something caught his attention. He raised the binoculars to his eyes and his eyebrows rose in shock. He hadn't actual expected her to come by. Especially not this late. He pulled out his phone and dialed Joker's number as he packed up his gear and slung his rifle over his shoulder. If she left he would be expected to follow her. He ran to the elevator on the top floor, hoping she wouldn't leave the diner before he got to his Harley Davidson.

~Ann's POV~

They had stopped by the diner on the way home. Jasmine's pay check had come in today, and Reign had asked if they could pick it up on the way home. The girl had forgotten to get it when she was out earlier in the day. Ann didn't mind. It was only a short drive from the diner to the apartment. It wouldn't take long. But she felt slightly uneasy. Ever since she stepped out of her car it felt like there were eyes on her. She didn't like the feeling of being watched.

She watched from the booth by the door as Reign chatted with Lisa. Lisa was asking how Jasmine was and if there was anything she could do to help. Ann felt slightly awkward. But finally Reign was done and they made their goodbyes.

Once home Reign literally fell into bed and passed out. Ann wasn't quite so tired, so she snuggled up under a blanket on the couch and flipped through the channels on her tv until she found a decent movie. She would have changed out of the dress, but she simply didn't feel like it at the moment.

She wasn't much into the movie. But it made for decent background noise as she rolled through her thoughts. She couldn't help feel a bit of disgust at herself for hiding out for months. And it was all because she was afraid of her feelings for Bruce. And what sucked even more was he hadn't even seemed bothered by what had happened between them. He was just happy to see her again and that she was okay. He was willing to wait for her to figure things out and take it slow. True, he had chased her down on his motorcycle until she was forced to stop. But to be fair she had just disappeared three months earlier. It stood to reason that he probably just wanted to talk to her.

A knock at the door snapped her out of her thoughts. Frowning, she stood and walked across the room. It must have been important. All her friends knew it was dangerous to come here. She reached for the door knob only for the door to burst open, probably from a well-placed kick. She jerked her hand away and stumbled backwards, just barely avoiding being hit by the door as it flew open.

Her first thought was robbers, but the moment her eyes landed on the purple suit she knew it was much worse. Her eyes darted to her guns on the other side of the room and back as he smoothly stepped through the busted door.

"Honey I'm home!" He exclaimed loudly. "Did ya miss me?" He asked as he stepped towards her. She backed up. "If you mean 'did I miss the insane way that you get me into trouble, the fucked up way you try to control me, and the bitter fights' then no. I didn't." She told him. He tilted his head. "Come now, love. Surely there was 'something' about me you missed." He coaxed as he slid farther into the room. "Please leave." She told him, crossing her arms. She was hardly in any shape to fight with him, physically or mentally.

He backed her up until she was against the wall. She wasn't used to being this vulnerable around him. She had no weapons within her reach; she was bare foot, and wearing a knee length dress. She felt naked and useless.

"Don't you look fancy? Did you get all dressed up for me?" He crooned. He was within arm's reach now. Close enough she could smell the gasoline on his suit.

She crossed her arms and smirked at him. "I was on a date." His eyes narrowed at her. "It's hardly any of your business. But I had a wonderful time. Now please leave." She told him. This was probably a bad idea, but it was the only weapon she had.

Before she could process it, he had hold of her wrist. And it hurt. "I don't think so. Your coming with me." He was dragging her to the door. "Sonofabitch! Let the fuck go of me!" She screamed at him. Suddenly out of nowhere there was a gunshot and a bullet ricocheted off the ceiling between the two. Joker let go of her wrist and she fell backwards onto her but. The both of them looked towards the doorway to the kitchen to see Reign, in her nightdress, clutching one of Ann's pistols.

Ann was shocked, to say the least. In the back of her mind she was sure the girl hadn't actually been trying to hit the Joker. But it was slightly amusing just the same. "Reign," Ann began. But she realized that the Joker was still standing over her. He was also looking at the girl with a slight sense of shock. Reign was shaking as she pointed the gun at Joker. Ann was surprise she hadn't dropped it yet.

"Get out." Reign yelled at Joker, who had recovered from his shock. He laughed at her. "Just who do you think I am, child?" He was still standing over her. Ann inched her way towards Reign. Once she got far enough away from him, she grabbed the other gun that was still on the chair and pointed it in his direction. "You should listen to her, Jak. She's not afraid of you. And I'm not a child." She told him. He didn't look very happy as he sneered at her. "I've already called the police. So unless Arkham is your goal, you'd better leave quickly." Reign told him. Ann had a thought that she could have been bluffing. Joker apparently had the same thought. That is, until the flash of red and blue from the window and the loud noise of police sirens flooded the apartment moments later.

"This isn't over, Love. I'll be seeing you again soon." He growled before rushing out the door.

Ann sighed and all but collapsed against the chair that her back was against. She glanced at Reign. The girl was still shaking and pointing the gun at the open door. Ann smiled and gently took the gun from her. "I'll take a guess that you've never shot a gun before." Ann commented. Reign shook her head. "Well, I'm glad you decided to learn." She commented and gave the girl a reassuring hug.

Moments later Commissioner Gordon ran into the room with his gun drawn. He had a whole squad of police officers behind him.

"He's already gone." Ann told him. The majority of police behind Gordon visibly relaxed. She guessed most of them didn't like the idea of a chance encounter with the Joker. "I'm very glad your both okay." Gordon told her. He had holstered his gun, but still looked stressed and on edge. She could see how bad this Joker business was affecting him.

Most of the police officers had dispersed by the time she had finished telling Gordon the story of what all had happened. Though, several had stayed behind. Either from curiosity or their duty she couldn't be sure.

"I don't think he'll be back tonight. Though I would like to place several officers in your home. Just to be sure." He told her. She nodded. No point in arguing. She knew no matter what she said, he was still going to leave them there.

Reign had gone back to bed not long after the commissioner had left. Ann, however, was still to wound up and just plain pissed off to sleep. She was sitting at the kitchen counter playing a game of quarters with herself and sipping on a strong self-made whiskey and Dr. Pepper. One of the two cops assigned to her was sitting on the couch watching tv while the other was doing a check of the outside perimeter.

Her current thought process was leading her down the road to finding a solution to her man problems with Joker. She was already at a stalemate in her relationship with him. He was obviously not going to give up his game with Batman anytime soon. She had the same problem with Bruce. Only he would refuse to leave the city defenseless against Joker. And both of them wanted her. Would do anything for her. Joker was her obvious focus here, as he didn't have morals or boundaries. Bruce was just insatiably protective. The problem was she couldn't pick either of them or she would end up having to fight against someone she cared about. She wished she could just go back to how it was before she found out Bruce was Batman. Everything was so much simpler then.

She was beginning to form some kind of long term plan for keeping Joker away from her until his status with Batman changed when the second police officer returned. He didn't look too keen on joining his partner on the couch, who was now snoring softly. So she offered him a seat next to her at the kitchen table. She offered him some whiskey, but he declined. It was fairly silent. She could tell he was debating something with himself. While she waited for him to do whatever he was wanting to do, she took the time to study him in greater detail. He was quite attractive, with wavy black hair that neatly framed his face. He had broad shoulders and was quite tall. He had a shadow of a beard along his jawline. And his hands were large and rough. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties.

She had the sudden realization that she hardly looked modest, with her tousled hair, her knee length wrinkled dress, and her bare feet. She probably looked like a cheap whore.

"Can I tell you something?" He suddenly asked from beside her. She returned her attention to him. "Um. Sure."

"I just want to say how much I admire you for standing up to him like you do." He told her. She was caught slightly off guard. "Umm. Thank you." She told him. She didn't really know what to say.

"It's really inspiring to see someone who's not afraid of him. It gives people hope." He told her. She smiled. "Thank you." She said again. It wasn't really so much of her standing up to him. It was more like her just trying to manage and get by his craziness. And she still wasn't used to being praised.

She took a look at his name tag. "Maroni?" She asked, suddenly nervous. He sighed visibly. "Unfortunately. Before you ask, yes I'm related to Sal Maroni. He's my uncle." He explained. Ann looked at him seriously. "But you a cop." She argued. He laughed. "Yes. And I'm and honest cop! Don't think just cause he's a mob boss that everyone who knows him is crooked." He almost scolded her. Sounds like he's heard that statement before. "I'm sorry. It just surprised me. I didn't think he had any nice friends. Much less any relatives on the police force." She told him. He smirked at her.

_Well, at least that explains why I've never met him before, considering the company I used to keep._

"So you've met my uncle?" He asked surprised. She scowled at herself inwardly. She hadn't expected him to pick up on that. So he was smart as well.

She nodded in response to his question. "He's dating my best friend." She told him. At least that explanation didn't involve her in all the craziness that happened between herself and the mob boss.

"Oh, Misa? She's your best friend?" Ann nodded. He smiled. "She's nice." He commented. Ann didn't know Misa had met Maroni's family. At least it meant he wasn't just using her and keeping her a secret from everyone.

"I never got your first name." Ann commented, more to change the subject than anything. But she was genuinely curious. "Connor." He told her. He looked pleased that she had asked. She smiled at him. She rightly couldn't help it. He was cute.

The conversation turned to recent politics soon afterwards and they stayed up talking for hours until Ann was finally too tired to continue. She excused herself to sleep. But Connor assured her that he'd be awake all night to make sure no one could harm her. He seemed very chivalrous. She went to sleep with a smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Broken: The Unyielding Beast

Chapter 4

Ann woke late the next day. The night before had been stressful to say the least. She groggily made her way to the kitchen. She was greeted by the smell of bacon and eggs. Reign had pulled one of the table chairs over to the stove for her to stand on and she was happily humming away while she cooked breakfast. Connor looked like he could pass out at any moment. But Mickey, his partner, was looking refreshed and bright. They were both sipping on hot coffee. Ann greeted the trio and poured herself a cup of coffee for herself.

She sat politely at the free spot at the table and waited anxiously for her food. Reign had cooked enough for everyone and they all dug in gratefully. It had been a long night for everyone.

After they had all eaten Ann instructed Reign to collect her things. They were going to be moving. Again. Connor and Mickey had offered to help them pack up the essentials.

Ann was going through her closet when Connor approached her. "Where are you planning to go?" He asked as he helped her pack some of her clothes into a suitcase. "Well I have an idea of a more permanent residence. But for the moment I figured I'd just go to a motel somewhere." She told him. "Well, I'd really like it if I could stay in contact with you. I'd feel better knowing your safe." He told her. She smirked to herself. Basically he was discreetly asking for her phone number. It was also a testimate to her insistence to stay off the grid. She didn't like people to be able to get ahold of her.

She didn't want to use her old cell phone, in case someone was trying to track her. Like Bruce, or Jak's father. But luckily she had stopped by a local walmart and picked up a second one. Just in case she had an emergency. She smiled sweetly at him and pulled out the phone. She gave him her number and he gave her his. All under the pretense of her protection. Who knows, it might just be possible for her to attract a somewhat normal guy after all.

Ann made her way into Reigns room to check on her progress with packing. She found the girl sitting on the far corner of her bed clutching her teddy bear. She was pouting. Ann smiled at her and sat next to her on the bed. "Are you still afraid from last night?" Ann asked her. Reign shook her head no. "What's wrong then?" She asked. Reign looked sad for a moment. "Were leaving." The girl explained. Ann gave her a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay. I promise." She told her. Reign was still pouty. "But I'll have to leave my new bed behind." Reign explained. Ann laughed inside her head. "That's what this is about? Sweetie, I'll get you a new bed." Reign looked up, suddenly hopeful. "You will?" She asked. Ann smiled at her. "You can even pick out one you like. Any bed you want." Ann told her. The girl beamed. She jumped off the bed and flung herself at Ann in a big grateful hug. "Thank you!" She exclaimed.

Ann laughed at her giddiness. "You all ready to go?" She asked. Reign nodded with a happy smile plastered on her face. "K. I think I'm all ready to go too. Connor's packing up the last of the stuff I need.

"Looks like you've been expecting to move anyway." Connor commented as she returned to the living room. Ann eyed the boxes that were all lined up against the far wall. "Yeah, I haven't been here very long. Truthfully I don't much care for this place. I just wanted something temporary and a little out of the way." She explained.

He smirked. "Well at least it'll be easy to move again." He pointed out. She rolled her eyes.

_At least were finally getting out of this place._

She couldn't help but wonder to herself just how long it would take before she would have to be moving again. But hopefully, there would be no need for it. She changed her clothes and ran a brush through her hair. She felt a bit strange arming herself with two cops there. But she knew there was no need for that.

Just as they were headed out the door Ann froze. Cursing she looked down at her bike. Connor came up beside her as she stared at it. "I can't leave it behind." She commented, more to herself. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it until now. "Well I could drive your car if you want." Connor offered beside her. She stiffened. The thought of yet another person driving her car wasn't exactly pleasant. "Can you drive a standard?" She asked. She was expecting a no. "Well it's been awhile. But I learned when I was younger." He told her.

_*sigh* I guess it's better than nothing._

She handed him the keys to her car and grabbed a pen and piece of paper. She hastily wrote down Misa's address and handed it to Connor. "Can you take Reign to this address? I'll call Misa and let her know your coming." Ann told him. He frowned at her. "Your not going there too?" He asked. She shook her head. "I've got some things I need to take care of first." He looked disappointed. Connor carried her suitcase to her car for her and Mickey was carrying a box that had some of her weapons and sword in it. Reign jumped into the front seat and buckled her seat belt. Her teddy bear still in her arms and her backpack at her feet in the floor. She looked at them expectantly, like she couldn't wait to get going.

"Hey kiddo, don't let him ruin my transmission, okay?" Ann told Reign. The girl giggled. Connor picked up on her joke. "Haha. I'll be nice with it." He said sarcastically and nudged her with his elbow. She smiled to herself. "Okay, well get going. I'll call Misa." Ann told him. Mickey was already in the police car that was parked at the curb. Ann went over to her bike and started it. Then she pulled out her phone and dialed Misa's number as Connor was carefully backing her car out of its parking spot. She was thankful he hadn't ground the gears yet. Connor and Reign waived to her and she waived back while she listened to the phone ring. She watched her car pull away then looked down at the phone. She hadn't got an answer. She frowned in annoyance and tried again. This time she called Misa's cell phone.

"Hello? Ann? Is that you?" Misa's voice came from the other end. "Yes, hey I had a run in with Jak last night. So I'm having to move. I've sent someone to your house with my car and Reign." Ann explained. "I'm so glad you called! Sal says there's something wrong. He won't let me go home. He says the Joker's planning something and it's dangerous." Misa told her. Of course he was. "When is he ever not doing something dangerous? I don't have time for this. I'm damn sick of this crap. I need to call Connor."

Ann barely caught the protest as she hung up and dialed Connor's cell number. Guess it was a good thing she got his number after all. After a moment she got an answer. She explained the problem. "Sounds like his place is probably the safest place to be then." Connor commented. "I can just take Reign there." He offered. Ann took a deep breath. Maroni's mob spot wasn't exactly what she would deem 'safe' for an 11 year old girl. But Misa would undoubtedly be kept safe. And Ann had no doubt that Misa would look after the girl. Connor was right. It would be the safest place. And since Maroni was freaking out about Joker that would mean the chances of him being welcome would be next to none.

She sighed. "Fine. But for the record I don't like it." She told him. She supposed it was better than sending him to Bruce's place. She could only imagine how that would go.

After they hung up she hopped on her bike and snapped on her helmet before pulling out onto the road and making for the freeway. It wasn't even noon yet and she was already wanting alcohol. It promised to be either a very interesting day, or a very bad one. Possibly both.

Twenty minutes later her mood still hadn't improved, despite her motorcycle ride. She had finally made it to her destination. She parked her bike on the curb and left her helmet on the bike's mirror before walking into the Gotham Real Estate office.

After an hour talking with the real estate agent she finally got it through to them exactly what she was looking for. For some odd reason the real estate lady just couldn't accept that Ann simply didn't want an uptown penthouse or quaint little cottage to raise a family in.

Ann stepped outside shaking her head with exasperation. She walked over to her bike and started it. She was about to get on when something across the street caught her attention. A man on a Harley that looked very familiar. And he had a large caliber rifle slung over his back.

_Sniper_

It was obvious he was there for her. And it was also obvious that he knew she had seen him. She smiled sweetly at him and waived. He smirked and waived back at her. It looked like Jak had given up on discretion. Sniper's Harley looked like it was maybe an 1100cc. Meaning he could match her in speed easily. But it was also a Harley. His acceleration would be slow compared to her. And she could also take corners faster. Because of the motor's bulk it would be difficult for him to take corners at the same speed. Hopefully the differences would keep her from the situation she had gotten into with Bruce the day before.

She threw her leg over her Ninja and buckled her helmet. He pulled out into traffic the same time she did. Her original plan was to head for Maroni's place. But once she was on the road she realized she had a problem. She had never found out where exactly it was. She cursed to herself. She couldn't exactly pull out her phone and call someone for directions. She would just have to try to lose him first. Then she could stop somewhere and call Misa or Connor.

She slowed as she came to a light that was changing yellow. But as she slowed she noticed something a little out of place. A plain white van was stopped at the light coming from her right. Once she got closer it told her all she needed to know. Devon was sitting in the driver's seat. And next to him sat the one and only Clown Prince of Crime. Sniper hadn't been just a tail. They were going to try to take her by force.

Thinking fast she cut across to the right hand lane, cutting off a car that honked in protest. Sniper was now on her left. Before he could follow her she accelerated into a right turn, coming within several feet of the van. She flipped them off as she passed and laughed to herself at the look of shock on Devon's face and the look of rage on Joker's.

Her move was perfect. Sniper couldn't follow because of the car in his way and the red light blocking his path. And Joker would have to turn the van around before he could pursue her.

Her mirrors told her that the van had made a right turn. Meaning he'd be coming towards her from the left. Sniper had ignored the rules of the road and had cut around the car. But it had still taken him more time.

Sniper was catching up with her quickly. Before he could get too close she made another right turn to take her farther away from Joker and to force Sniper to slow down. A bigger engine meant nothing if you didn't have the space to use it.

About the time he was beginning to catch up again she made another turn. It seemed that though she could slow him down on the curves, he would catch right back up to her once he was on a straight. So they were at a slight stalemate.

She started to feel panic when the van reappeared behind her. She was surprised she hadn't gotten herself lost in her attempt to get away. But she actually knew the neighborhood she was in. She was close to the road that would take her to Bruce's mansion. With another look in her rearview mirror she made up her mind. People were taking her choices away from her again. There was nothing else she could do. So she turned down the road that would take her to the only person who could drive him away.

The road to Bruce's mansion was long and winding. She didn't remember it ever taking so long to get there before. Joker and Sniper were still behind her. She hoped he hadn't figured out where she was going by now. But she was sure he had.

Finally his mansion was in view. She didn't slow down as much as she probably should have as she turned onto the gravel driveway. Her back tire slid on the loose rocks and she was forced to kick off the ground with her foot to keep from falling completely over. She gunned it going up the driveway so she'd have as much time as possible. She just hoped he was here.

Once she got close to the end of the driveway she skidded sideways and managed to stop at the foot of the stairs that led to the front door. She couldn't bring herself to drop the bike, even though she was in a hurry. So she took the time to put the kickstand down before she jumped off the bike, yanking her helmet off as she ran up the stairs. Bruce was already at the top with a shocked look on his face.

He looked like he had been in the middle of getting dressed. He was wearing a pair of his black business pants and a white button up shirt that was practically hanging off his shoulders. The front was undone, showing his muscled chest.

She made it to the top of the stairs just as she heard the sliding door of the van close behind her. She turned to see Joker standing at the base of the stairs with five or six of his goons behind him. And they were all armed. Devon was standing off to the side looking apologetic and pitiful. Sniper was next to him.

"Get behind me." Bruce told her as he stepped between her and Joker's henchmen. "I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go." She whispered.

"Ann. Come here." Joker commanded from the bottom of the stairs. "She's not going anywhere with you." Bruce spoke loudly. He was probably trying to be intimidating. But up against six armed men it was hardly a contest of intimidation. "She's coming with me if I have to destroy every inch of this place and everyone in it!" Joker yelled.

Bruce glanced back at her. She shook her head no. "It looks like she disagrees with you." Bruce called back. The click of weapons being taken off safety reached her ears. Devon actually looked worried now. Ann knew he was bluffing. He wouldn't shoot at her. But Bruce was a different story.

Bruce looked back at her. "I want you to slowly back through the door way." He told her. She glared at him. "No way. If I'm not behind you they'll kill you." She argued. He rolled his eyes. "For just once, one time, please trust me." He told her. She wasn't happy. But she nodded.

As she took her first small step backwards Bruce stepped with her so that they moved at the same time. When they were halfway to the door Joker exaggeratedly raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Every gun was suddenly pointed at them. Ann froze. If he was bluffing, he was doing a damn good job. "Keep moving." Bruce told her. He was unusually calm. But it snapped her out of the shock she was feeling. A moment later Devon worked his way through the goons to Joker. She could see he wasn't happy with the situation. Joker listened as Devon talked. But he was talking to quiet for her to hear what was being said.

"Get ready." Bruce told her over his shoulder. She was about to ask for what but Devon had recaptured her attention. "You said you wouldn't hurt her!" Most of the hired henchmen glanced at the two. Joker back handed Devon, causing him to stumble backwards. That was when Bruce made his move.

Before she could even blink he had turned and was facing her. He tackled her to the ground. A second later Joker's goons opened fire and bullets were flying over their heads. Ann landed roughly on the hard marble of the foyer. Bruce landed on top of her, knocking the wind from her lungs. He didn't spare a second as he rolled over and kicked the hard wood door shut behind them. Ann could hear Joker yelling for them to stop shooting as Bruce covered her protectively. A few seconds later the gunfire stopped.

She was finally getting her breath back when she heard someone running up the outside stairs. Bruce likely heard it as well. He half rolled off her, ready to fight whoever was at the door. Ann was a step ahead of him. And damn was she pissed off now. The bastard had actually opened fire on them! She twisted to the side and pulled her pistol from its holster just as the door swung open.

Joker and Devon were in the doorway. It was clear they had rushed up the stairs to make sure she was okay. But she didn't see any of that now. She was seeing red.

Both their faces sagged in relief when they saw her on the floor, in one piece, with her gun drawn. Then they realized she was pointing a gun at them. Joker's look of relief didn't change. But Devon's expression was one of panic.

"Get the fuck away from me!" She screamed. Joker's looked turned to shock as she gave off a warning shot that landed in the door frame by his shoulder. Devon and Joker both dove back out the door as she shot off all her ammo in their direction. She wasn't really trying to hit either of them. It was more of a hysterical stress relief than an attempt to kill them. When her gun was empty a few seconds later she threw it out the door in their direction as they scrambled down the stairs.

"I'll take that as a sign that your angry. I'll just see you later tonight." Joker called from outside.

"Fuck you you psychopathic waste of space!" She yelled back.

A moment later she heard the van pull away.

She glanced at Bruce who was half sitting half kneeling at her right. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded. She could feel her walls breaking down around her as she tried to contain a sob. He pulled her into a hug and held her there against his shoulder. She was crying now, silently and she buried her face in his shoulder.

A few minutes went by and her tears were beginning to dry up when a discreet cough from behind them took both their attention. Alfred was standing slightly out of the way. "Shall I call the police sir?" He asked, slightly exasperated.

_Wonderful. Just what I need. More cops._

"No, Alfred. They won't be back." Bruce told him. Ann sighed in relief. "Very good sir. I'll just… clean up then." Alfred told him. Alfred retreated and she looked back at Bruce. "I'm sorry I brought him here. I just didn't know where else to go." She told him. Bruce smiled at her. "I'm glad you came here." He told her. She smiled back, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

She was suddenly scooped up into his arms and he carried her up the nearby stairs. She didn't even bother to protest. She laid her head on his shoulder and let him carry her wherever he wanted. After a moment she closed her eyes.

A few minutes later she had almost drifted off to sleep when she felt herself being slowly laid on a soft surface. She opened her eyes to see he had taken her to his bedroom. She was laying on the plush white sofa. He was across the room retrieving something. When he came back he was carrying a bottle of red wine. She sat up on her elbows as he approached. "Planning on getting me drunk again?" She asked playfully. He smirked at her. "I figured it'd take the edge off." He told her. She sat up all the way as he sat beside her. He opened the bottle and poured her a glass. She gratefully took it and sipped on the slightly tart liquid. He had already poured himself a glass when he flipped on his tv before he slipped his arm around her shoulders.

A long time went by with nothing but silence. Neither one of them were paying any attention to the television. Bruce seemed to be more focused on her. But her mind was blank. She just stared at the tv without actually processing what was happening or paying any attention to it.

An hour went by before Bruce slightly shook her out of her shock. "I think your phone's going off." He told her. She hadn't even noticed. She pulled her phone out and answered the call.

It was Connor calling to check on her. She mentioned her encounter with Joker but left out most of the details, and the shooting. She made sure to emphasize that she was fine. He offered to come get her but she declined. Instead she asked for directions to Maroni's place. She made sure not to say the name 'Maroni' so Bruce wouldn't know where she was planning to go.

After she hung up she noticed Bruce giving her a curious look. "You make a new friend?" He asked. He had probably heard the male voice on the other end. She nodded. "Yeah, he's a cop. I met him last night." She told him. The look on his face said he was really annoyed that she had another run in with the police. She quickly explained that it actually hadn't been her fault this time then told him about her encounter with Joker the night before.

"Why didn't you call me?" He asked her a bit loudly. Obviously he was upset. "Well it was all over in just a few minutes. The cops were already there, he was gone, and it was late. I guess I didn't feel like I needed to." She told him.

He sighed, "And your going to Maroni's mansion. The biggest crime boss in the city." He commented. She winced.

_Guess he figured it out._

"I don't like it any more than you do. But I have to go there. That's where Reign is." Now it looked like he was actually getting mad. "You sent an 11 year old girl to stay with the mob?" He was close to yelling. She glared at him. "Not really by choice! I asked Connor to take her to Misa's place. And Misa wasn't home. She was with Maroni. And after that I was in the middle of trying to avoid being captured by Joker." She tried to rationalize with him. He stopped, a confused look on his face. "Why was Misa with Maroni?" He asked suddenly.

_Fuck._

It only then occurred to her that he didn't know they were dating. She closed her eyes, bracing for impact. "I guess their sort of dating." She mumbled. He was completely silent. She could almost see the vein popping out of his neck. "When were you planning on telling me this?" He asked after a moment. She quirked an eyebrow. He was beginning to confuse and annoy her. "I don't usually gossip about my friend's relationships." She commented

"That is something that would be nice to mention though." He told her. "You really think it's a good idea to go around telling everyone I know that my best friend is dating a 'mob boss'?" She asked sarcastically. "Well I figured you would at least telling someone your dating." He snapped back. "We went 'a' date yesterday and now suddenly were a couple again? Since when am I obligated to tell you every aspect of my life?! I'm allowed to make my own decisions about who I tell and what! And I'm allowed to date or 'not' date who I want. I don't particularly like that she's seeing him either. But it's her choice."

She stood and angrily made her way for the door. "Wait." He was already standing and right behind her. He gently took hold of her arm. "I didn't mean to make you mad. I just wish you'd tell me what's going on. I care about you. And it makes me angry that you'd rather let anyone but me help you. It makes me jealous." He told her.

She was surprised. But his words eerily mimicked the ones she had told Jak. It was a slightly different situation. But she still felt a small pang of guilt.

She sighed. "I guess that is kinda my fault. I'm just not used to telling people what's going on with my life. I've always been a private person. I really don't like everybody knowing my business. I'm sorry." She told him. She gave him a hug. "Thank you. You know, for saving my ass." She told him. He smiled at her. "Anytime you need someone to save your ass, I hope you'll come to me." He told her. She smirked at him, catching the double meaning. He shrugged. "You know I love your ass."

**Author's notes:**

**Okay, I've gone a bit out of my way to emphasize how much Ann wants to stay the 'f' away from Joker. I've written her as a very stubborn person. And she still kinda pissed at him. Even more so now. (C'mon. Being shot at would piss you off too.) But don't worry. There's going to be some rather drastic changes in the next chapter. **

**;-p**

**Also, I wanted to note that Joker obviously has a few new hired guns. (indicating why they fired on Ann without him actually telling them to do so) They don't know Ann and don't know the implications of exactly why he's keeping her around. Or trying to anyways. This may or may not give him some problems farther down the road.**

**On a more personal note I'd like to thank everyone that has stayed with me this far. I know I don't exactly post chapters as soon as you'd probably like them. It's been trying my brain to wright out all these damned details. I guess I'm a stickler for details. The sequel has gone a bit far away from my original vision of this quick tempered, brilliant criminal that has a complex morality line and can actually stand up to Joker on a level playing field. It's gotten to be more of a drama thing with her caught between J and Bruce.**

**I've been trying very hard to wright this out according to what she would realistically do in these situations. I'm 100% certain that being connected to Joker in any way automatically makes you connected to Batman (seeing as how the Joker is the main antagonist against said bat). And I swear to God every single Batman movie I've seen he falls for some girl that ends up caught in the middle of all the shit. So it makes sense to me.**

**I want to personally thank boca3, ChidorixCixBritannia, and storywriter1994 for your reviews. I'm very happy that you continue to follow this crazy invention. I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticism. I also welcome the occasional praise. ^_^ Thank you all so much. I'm glad your enjoying it. I still feel like there's too much man drama. But I'm working to amend it…. Kind of. Gotta face it at some point. If the Joker's involved theres goinna be some kind of drama. Or trauma. Not sure which. Lol Love you guys. 3**


	5. Chapter 5

~Broken: The Unyielding Beast~

Chapter 5!

Ann's mood had improved slightly since her encounter with Joker. Her sincere moment with Bruce had made her feel much better. But as she descended the stairs and came upon the mess in his foyer, the reality of the situation came crashing down on her again. They had shot at her! Actually fragging shot at her! She was so pissed about it she came close to flying into another rage. But she kept ahold of her wits. Bruce had, thankfully, let her leave on her own. Probably so he could process their conversation in greater detail. She was glad for the moment to herself.

As she came to the door of the mansion she let her caution flood through her. She hesitantly peeked around the door frame, just to make sure he hadn't come back to finish the job. Once she noted that he was in fact gone she walked outside and down the steps. She picked up the helmet that she had tossed in her rush and looked it over. There was a serious scuff on the top and she fumed at it. Any kind of hard drop and the safety of the helmet would be compromised, due to its interior structure. As far as she was concerned it was worthless now. So she dropped it back to the ground. Next she picked up her pistol that she had thrown in her earlier rage and examined it. She was happy to see that the resulting clatter on the pavement had only given it a slight scuff. Satisfied she continued down the stairs to her bike.

She walked a few circles around it, examining it for scuffs or bullet holes. She wouldn't have been a damn bit surprised if one of the oafs had fired a stray shot in its direction. But she was happy to find not a single mark on her precious motorcycle. She started it up, happy that she hadn't dropped it in her moment of haste to get up the stairs earlier.

Before she headed out she switched the loaded pistol to the more easily accessible holster on her back, and put the empty gun on her ankle.

Remembering the directions she had received on the phone earlier, she hopped on her bike. She still had her hair braided from her ride there. So she pulled the sunglasses Bruce had given her for her birthday out of her coat pocket and put them on, then headed on her way.

She was cautious on her way to Maroni's place, knowing that the Joker could have set up another tail for her. It would suck majorly to go through that entire situation all over again.

Luckily she made it to Maroni's place without an encounter or even the hint of one. She was happy for this. But her happiness was short lived.

"What the hell do you mean you won't open the gate?" Ann was trying her very best not to yell at the guard. "Sorry ma'am. Mr. Maroni himself made it very clear that no one is to enter." He told her calmly. Ann looked him up and down, sizing him up. She was incredibly tempted to know him out and open the damned gate herself. But he was a big guy. Bald with broad shoulders and bulging muscles. And tall, easily 6 feet. Possibly more. She pictured him working as a bouncer at some club. "Really? Did you say the same thing to Connor when he came through here in MY Camaro?" She asked him. He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Connor Maroni is an established member of the Maroni family. As such he may come and go as he pleases." He told her with a no nonsense tone. Though she could tell that he was unnerved by the fact that she knew the circumstance of Connor's arrival.

"Look, I'm expected, by BOTH your boss's girlfriend AND Connor. If you seriously want to proceed down this road, where you'll probably be strongly reprimanded, then just call up to the friggin house and confirm that I'm supposed to be here." She told him. She noticed that his eyes shifted slightly to give her a bit of a glare. "I'm sorry ma'am. I was implicitly directed that no one unknown may enter. And I don't know you." She closed her eyes and sighed to herself, forcing herself to calm down. "Fine." She turned off her bike and pulled out her phone. "If you won't do it I will."

She dialed Misa's number and waited patiently for her to pick up the call. A few moments later and Misa's happy voice beamed at her through the phone. "Hey Misa. I'm having a bit of a problem with the thug watch dog that's guarding the gate. Would you mind calling down here and barking at him in a language he might understand?" She asked with a cheerful voice. She glanced at the guard several feet to her right and watched him stiffen at her thinly veiled insult. Misa sounded a bit annoyed. "Sure. Give me just a second." Ann hung up the phone and smiled at the guard. He was glaring daggers at her. A few seconds later the phone in his little guard booth behind him rang. She could see the reluctance to answer the call. After a moment he turned his back to her and stepped inside the booth to answer the phone. He was too far away for her to hear the conversation. But the look on his face told her he definitely wasn't happy. A minute went by before he slammed the phone and trudged back out to her. She smiled at him and without looking away started her bike. The smile never left her face. He typed in a code on a post by the driveway and the gate opened. "Have a nice day Miss Giovanni." He told her as the gate opened. Her smile widened. "Thank you." She told him in her most cheerfully fake voice before she smoothly shifted her bike out of neutral and coasted inside.

The mansion's exterior was much more lavish than she would have expected. There were patches of well-groomed flowers and gardened areas along the driveway. The driveway itself looked to be made of a type of cobble stone and was lined with decorative bricks. Every few feet there was a marble statue or bust of what she could only guess was some famous Greek man or woman from history. Behind the statues on either side were rows of cherry blossom trees in their full and beautiful pink glory. Farther away from the driveway on both sides were large expanses or orchard that contained some type or another of fruit trees. Ann had no way of telling what kind they were.

She drove slowly, taking in all the beautiful scenery. But as she drove she began to pick out little details of security among all the beauty. A security camera here or a motion detector there. And also, moving in what looked like teams of four, were what appeared to be well trained security guards. They dressed all in black and all carried machine guns. The illegal type of machine guns. Every so often she would pick out one of these teams making their way around the property. She shivered a bit. Maroni definitely didn't compromise on the security factor. She would hate to be trapped in this place. The huge wall around the property would be hard enough to scale n an escape. It had looked like it was at least 10 foot high. Add that on top of round the clock top end security teams and all the cameras and escape from this place would surely be next to impossible without alerting someone. But then in the same case, breaking in would be just as impossible. There was no question in her mind, this was definitely one of the safest places in the city in terms of brute force 'stay the f out' security. Maroni had definitely jumped up the list of 'guys that have impressed me' scale.

The drive way was long. Going at her relatively slow pace it took her a bit to reach the actual mansion. Once she got close enough she began examining it as well. The exterior walls were all made of a golden color brick. Two large curved stone marble stairways stretched up from either side of the driveway to meet at the top at a large set of double doors. The driveway split, one way going to a circle drive that met with the two stair cases and the other direction going off to the right along the wall of the building. She wasn't 100% sure where to park her bike and had just decided to take the driveway to the right when a man stepped up to the driveway by the stairs and motioned her over. He was tall and slightly on the narrow side with long and neat black hair that was pulled into a pony tail. He wore a very formal looking red suit with a matching cap on his head.

"Umm, hi?" Ann said hesitantly. He smiled at her then looked down at her bike. "Would you like me to take your, umm, motorcycle to the garage miss?" He asked.

_Ah. A valet. That explains the suit._

He really didn't look like the type to ride a motorized anything, much less her beautiful bike. "Umm, do you know how to ride one of these?" She asked him. He looked more anxious then shook his head. She smiled at him. "How bout you just show me where to park it. That way I don't have to worry about my bike, and you can still do your job." She suggested. He seemed to perk up at her suggestion.

Balancing on the bike was more difficult when she was coasting at this slow pace. But there was no helping it. She managed it fine by using her feet to somewhat walk the bike forward while she followed the valet down the driveway. Now that she had turned the corner by the mansion and the trees we no longer in her way she could see a fairly impressive looking garage at the far end of the mansion. Once they got closer the valet pushed a button on a small remote and two large doors on the exterior slowly began sliding open to either side.

Ann drove inside the garage and turned her bike around to make leaving easier. The garage easily had plenty of room. Ann recognized Misa's car parked a little farther in. Next to it was her Camaro. She was relieved to see it. There was also an expensive looking limo off to one side next to a pricy Cadillac. There covered cars in the back that were probably part of a collection. Ann didn't pay much attention to them.

The valet pointed her in the direction of a door that would take her into the main part of the mansion. She thanked him and headed inside.

The moment the door closed behind her she was pounced upon and nearly knocked over in a strong embrace by a little girl. Ann smirked at her. "I take it you missed me?" She asked Reign looked up at her through the thick bangs over her eyes and smiled. Ann patted her on the head as the girl released her. Misa was the next person she noticed. And she didn't look happy. "I'm really sorry about that idiot at the gate. He should have let you in just by mentioning my name." She told her.

Ann waived it off. "Naw, it's okay. I figured out the security around here's pretty tight." She replied.

"It's most definitely not okay. We've had problems with him before." Ann's eyebrows rose in slight surprise. But she didn't comment on it. She got the feeling Misa and the guard didn't get along very well.

Misa led Ann, who was being dragged along by Reign, several rooms away into a slightly more comfortable sitting room. Connor was lounging on one of the couches across the room. Someone was playing a baby grand piano that was in an open area on the other side of the room. Everything in sight was lavish and decorative.

Reign happily skipped over to sit on the floor close to Connor. She opened a rectangular box that looked like it housed some type of small instrument. Misa nudged Ann unexpectedly. "She's cute. Where'd you find her?" Misa asked as she sat on a plush looking love seat. Ann took a spot next to her and explained the situation with Reign, quietly so as not to disturb the little girl. Misa smiled at her. "You always manage to be in the right place at the right time." Ann rolled her eyes. "No. Not always." Thinking of her earlier run in with Joker.

Misa gave her a questioning look. A moment later she mentioned her clown faced 'friend' and Misa's temper immediately returned. "That bastard! Do you know what he did? He completely wrecked my house yesterday!" She half yelled. Ann tried her best to keep the smirk off her face, remembering when she had talked to him from her land line. She half winced. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Ashley said he broke into her place too."

"No no no. All he did to her place was rifle through her paperwork. Not me. He completely trashed my entire place. He tore apart my couch and bed. He took the stuffing out of every pillow and cushion and soaked it then stuffed it everywhere. He even put it in the freezer!" She exclaimed. This time Ann did wince. "Yeah. He mentioned he was mad at you because you stomped on his foot or something." Ann commented. Misa laughed a bit hysterically. "I should have stomped harder! I'd love to see him limp around with a broken toe!" Ann laughed at the thought.

"Anyways, that whole mess at my place is part of the reason I'm stuck here. Sal insisted that I stay here until this whole mess calms down. He didn't want me to be there if he came back. And also he won't let me leave. He's said that your friend is planning something big. He doesn't want me anywhere but here." Misa explained.

Ann scowled. "I thought Maroni was kind of 'in' with J. What is he planning?" Ann asked. Misa took that opportunity to glare at the piano across the room. "I don't know. He won't tell me." The music from the piano faltered.

Ann realized the mysterious piano player must be the mob boss himself. He likely hadn't wanted to reveal himself because of the somewhat strained relationship that they were both less than enthusiastic about maintaining.

"Sal, your being rude. Come say hi." Misa called from beside her. Connor had looked up from some magazine he had been reading. Sal Maroni materialized from behind the piano and made his way over to them. He offered a curt hello to Ann before sitting in a nearby recliner.

Reign suddenly bounded up to the two women in excitement. She held out the small box she had been encompassed with earlier to Ann. "Misa said you knew how to play it." Reign told her, again holding out the box. Ann gently took the box and opened it to reveal a beautiful gold plated concert flute. It looked incredibly expensive. Misa smiled. "Sal gave it to her. She was watching him play the piano and he mentioned that the piano and flute have the same notes and frequently duo together." Ann was in sheer amazement looking at the instrument. A simple silver plated flute could cost well over $1000. This one must have been worth at least four or five times that. It was beautifully crafted. Ann looked to his direction. "You gave this to her?" She asked amazed. He nodded.

"I've been a piano player for quite some time. I've always wondered at how beautifully the flute adds to the sound compilation. But sadly, I have no idea how to play it. I had hoped she would take an interest in it." He explained. Ann sat back in her seat and looked at the flute again.

"Will you teach me?" Reign asked enthusiastically. Ann looked at the little girl and saw the hopeful glee in her eyes. "Well I'm not exactly a good teacher. I've never taught anyone to play something before." Ann commented. Misa nudged her. "C'mon. You were the best flute played in the entire band. You won four meals in concert competitions by yourself and two others in quartet competitions." Misa bragged on her. Ann looked down at the flute again. "That was a really lng time ago. But I guess I can give it a shot."

Ann spent the next few hours showing Reign all the basic essentials of the flute. She showed the girl how to put together the three parts and take them apart again, how to clean the flute after use, how to correctly position the mouthpiece and blow to create the sound. Reign had some difficulty with the last part. But after Ann explained that it was very similar to whistling Reign managed to produce a clear tone. Ann didn't have any sheet music to show her so that she would be able to read music. But she went through a basic scale starting at a low E and ending in a high B. Ann would demonstrate each note for her then show her the correct keys to hold down or leave open to produce the same note.

Misa had long since lost interest in the two of them and had switched on a television. She was watching Survivor. Ann never kept up with tv shows. Connor had either finished his magazine or got bored of it. He was watching the show as well. Maroni had his nose in a book, effectively blocking out the rest of the world. But Ann would notice him look up once in a while to watch the little girl try to play a note or set of notes on her new flute.

During a lull in the activity, and probably during a commercial Misa got Sal's attention. "Honey we should all go out to eat. It's been so long since I spent some time with Ann. And I'm hungry." Ann cringed at her use of the pet name 'honey' but Sal smiled at her. "Sure. Anything you want." He told her. Misa squeaked in happiness and jumped up and down.

She grabbed Ann by the wrist and tried to drag her up off the floor. Ann gave her a startled look. "C'mon! Let's get dressed!" Misa exclaimed when Ann didn't move from her spot. Ann looked herself up and down. "I am dressed." She stated matter of factly. Reign laughed. "She wants you to dress up."

Ann glowered at no one in particular. "I know what she wants." She shot a glance at Connor who was watching her intently. "It'd be like a double date! With a +1 of course." Misa said excitedly. Now it made sense. She was trying to push Connor off on her and play match maker. Ann glared at Misa. "It would do you some good to get out and have a good time with a 'normal' guy!" Misa shouted. Sal had already abandoned the conversation in favor of his book. Connor stood and walked to her spot on the floor.

"It would be my honor to escort you, mi lady." He stated, and with a flourish offered to help her to her feet. Ann sighed. "Oh alright." She caved and let him 'help' her up off the floor.

Moments later Ann was being dragged through the mansion by both Misa and Reign, who had each taken hold of one of her arms, presumably in an attempt to keep her in their grasp, should she change her mind.

Misa, of course, had the perfect dress in mind for her. It was a pretty blue color that was tight at her waist and then flared out in the shape of an A and came down to her knees. There was a little blue bow just under her breast line and it was strapless. Ann could only assume the material was silk. It felt cool and soft against her skin. It reminded Ann of a prom dress or something you might wear as a brides maid.

Misa chose a long flowing red dress for herself that had a split up to her knee on one side. It looked very luxurious. The bright red set off her black hair. The dress Ann was in made her feel slightly like she was Alice in Wonderland. It made her feel all pretty.

Misa didn't have any dressed that would fit Reign. But Reign had packed a few of her own dresses. She chose the nicest one she had. It was white with blue stripes that crisscrossed over each other. Ann was reminded of a young Dorothy, all ready to go off down a yellow brick road to find a wizard.

Misa did Ann's make up, giving her green tinted smoky eye shadow, a little blush and some mascara. Misa then gave Reign some simple blue eye shadow and blush of her own before starting on her own makeup. While Misa fussed over which shade she should wear with her red dress, Ann was busy trying to find a way to carry one of her guns with her in a discreet way. She was at a loss. Eventually Misa told her to give up on it. There was no plausible way to hide a gun in a dress like the one she was wearing. It was too tight to her skin, and too short to wear on around her leg. Ann finally settled on just her Swiss army knife that she placed in her bra, between her boobs where it couldn't be seen.

After Ann picked out a pair of cute but simple black heels the three were ready to go.

Misa guided the two of them to the foyer where Sal and Connor Maroni were already waiting. They were both wearing tuxedos. Ann thought of a penguin joke, but kept it to herself.

Once they made their hello's and you look beautiful's, Sal lead them outside where the limo from the garage was waiting on them.

Misa and Maroni cuddled on one of the limo seats and Reign sat off to the sid looking slightly uncomfortable while Ann listened to Connor talk about what all he had been through while he had been on the police force. Turns out a lot of people didn't trust him because of his family ties. Ann could understand why. But she felt slightly sorry for him having to put up with it. She could tell he was very sincere about his job. Though she couldn't rule out the possibility of him being Maroni's inside man. But she found it unlikely. All in all he seemed like a completely normal guy, struggling to make a good side of the name he had been given. It was a little boring compared to the kind of guy she was used to. But maybe boring was exactly what she needed.

They had a nice dinner at a very expensive restaurant. Reign still looked like she didn't know what to do with herself. She obviously wasn't used to such lavish and rich conditions and didn't know what was proper. Ann figured she would eventually grow used to it.

Ann was really enjoying Connor's company. He was so laid back and relaxed. It was hardly the harsh uptight and secretive guy she was used to in both J and Bruce. With the both of them she could almost see the gears turning in their heads, knowing they were constantly thinking of the next move or working out a problem. But it wasn't lie that with Connor. She felt she could relax a little and be more herself without having to watch what she said or did. It was a huge weight off her mind.

Several hours went by quickly at the restaurant. Maroni had come out of his silence a bit and Ann had actually managed a few conversations with him throughout the night. It wasn't until Misa had turned her attention to Connor, telling him about her experience as the DA's assistant, that Maroni got serious.

Once he was sure Misa's attention was elsewhere he leaned closer to Ann and all but whispered. "Your in some serious trouble." She nearly did a double take at the sudden change in his tone and the hushed way he talked. That was when she realized that he had wanted to speak to her all night. He just didn't want Misa to have to hear it.

She leaned over and whispered back. "You think I don't know that?" She practically hissed at him. With a glance at Misa he leaned back to her. "I normally stay away from things like this. It's just good business. But…" He looked back at Misa. The implied meaning hitting her. He wanted to help because she was Misa's best friend.

"And there's the fact that you're the only person he seems to not want to kill." He commented quietly. Ann frowned. She didn't want to be reminded of her past with Joker. It would get her thinking about him again.

"I don't know exactly what your point is, but you may want to get to it. She won't be distracted forever." Ann told him.

He frowned at her bluntness. "I wanted to warn you. He's planning something big, and it will be very soon. He's been hiring mercenaries from all the bosses in the city. Dangerous men."

Ann's mind flashed to the group of thugs that she hadn't recognized. The ones that had fired on her and Bruce before Joker could order it. Dangerous? Maroni had no idea.

"I had a run in with them earlier today." She told him. He scowled. Obviously he had hoped to warn her before she had to deal with them.

"I don't know how I can help with this, other than offering you the protection of my house. But if you find yourself in need of a powerful friend, I'll do what I can." He told her. Ann was honestly surprised by his offer. She eyed him warily, wondering what game he was trying to play at. But she could see no deception in his eyes. After a moment she nodded. "It's appreciated." She told him.

"What on earth are you two whispering about?" Misa asked from across the table. Ann had been right. She didn't remain distracted for long. Ann smiled at her. "Oh, it's just a little secret." She said slyly. Sal gave her a look. Ann smiled bright and cheery. "I know what your getting for your birthday! Haha." Ann exclaimed then stuck out her tongue. Misa glared. "That's no fair!" She argued like they were children again. The look on Sal's face said he was relieved. He smiled and went along with it, laughing with the rest of them at the childish display.

By now it was close to ten. Connor had asked her if she wanted to go out for a drink. After Misa had agreed to see Reign to sleep, Ann agreed. She could use a strong drink. And she had had a good time so far.

Maroni dropped the two of them off at Connor's favorite bar with a promise to send a car back for them. He winked in Connor's direction as the couple stepped out of the car.

Ann felt slightly overdressed for a bar. She would have been more comfortable in her own clothing, and not in a knee length silky dress. But Connor assured her it was fine. Turns out this happened to be the bar that most of the younger cops hung out at when they were off duty. As they entered Ann recognized several of them that she had come in contact with at some point or another in the past. No names jumped out at her though. The bar was busy and a band was up on stage playing older rock. This was her kind of place. She liked the atmosphere. Connor led her to a table that was away from most of the traffic and near a few pool tables. Ann's ordered a vodka sour and Connor picked something similar.

Ann had ordered her drink because of the slice of lemon that always came on the rim of the glass. She enjoyed eating them after she finished the drink.

After their drinks came Ann challenged Connor to a round of pool. He eagerly agreed, probably thinking that he could beat her easily because she was a girl. She was tempted to put money on the game, just to make her victory that much sweeter. But she figured embarrassing him in kicking his butt would be bad enough. Immediately she pulled ahead in the game and she watched his face fall. She smiled to herself. Men were so easy to surprise. Well, some men.

She easily won the first three games, and had attracted the attention of a few of Connor's co-workers who were all rooting for her to continue the embarrassment. Connor managed to win the next two games and Ann won the last.

An was about to re-wrack the table when something grabbed her attention. Someone across the room at the bar was calling Connor over. The man pointed to the television. Soon a crowed had formed around the bar all watching the tv. Soon afterward the bar began rapidly clearing out. Connor ran over to Ann. "I have to go. There's been an emergency." He told her. He seemed nervous. "That's awful. What kind of emergency? Is anyone hurt?" She asked concerned. He shook his head. "No not yet. But I need to get over there now. I'm going to go call a cab to the station." He told her. "Don't you need to change?" She asked him.

He was on his phone calling the cab already. "I have a uniform at the station." He told her while he waited for the cab company to pick up the phone.

She began to wander towards the bar, intent on seeing what was on the tv, but Connor stopped her before she could get there. "You don't want to see it." He told her. She frowned at him. She was quite sure she 'did' want to see it. He had finished his call for a cab rather quickly. She turned to again go to the television but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you just take the car back to Sal's place? You would probably be safest there." He suggested. She scowled at him. "What's the emergence? And why don't you want me to know about it?" She asked him, beginning to get irritated.

He sighed and let his head fall to look at the floor. "Because you'll try to do something about it." He told her. She broke away from him and made her way to the tv, shrugging him off her as he made another attempt to keep her away from it.

The tv was tuned to a news station. The 'live' icon in the top corner told her that this was going on at the very moment, and not a broadcast from earlier that day. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It told her that it was 11:13pm. Strange for a news broadcast to be on so late.

The reporter was talking about the police surrounding a building of some kind. And there was the mention of explosives. It sounded like the usual Joker scheme. Blow up a building just for the fun of it. Sure enough, a moment later the reporter mentioned the Joker and his demands.

_Wait, demands? That doesn't sound like J._

A dark haired reporter was on the screen.

"Once again, I'm outside the Wayne Foundation Orphanage. As far as we can tell there are indeed people still inside. The Joker has threatened to have the building blown up if the police come within 200 yards of the building. He's demanding the return of what he is calling 'his shadow'. No one knows what he means. It's possible what little sanity he had remaining is now gone. If his demands are not met by midnight, he has threatened to destroy the building, killing any inside."

Ann nearly fainted. But that would do no good now. She slowly sat at the chair at the bar. She knocked on the bar. "Whiskey." She said aloud. A moment later there was a shot glass in front of her and the bar tender poured it full of whiskey. She immediately downed it and knocked again. The bartender refilled the glass. She downed it again. Connor was silent beside her. She rifled through her purse then dropped a 20 on the bar. "Keep it." She told him, indicating the change, before she stood and made her way towards the door. Connor stopped her again.

"Wait a minute. What exactly are you planning to do?" He asked her, clearly worried for her safety. He didn't know, no one did, what the Joker had meant by 'his Shadow'. Of course everyone would think he was just spouting more of his insanity. There was no way for Connor to know that he had meant her.

"I need to go. Go do your job, and I'll do mine." She told him before disappearing out the door. She found the car Maroni had sent parked at the curb several spots away from the bar's immediate entrance. She ran to the car and practically threw herself inside. The driver was clearly surprise by her sudden entrance. He had probably been sleeping.

"I don't have time to explain. I need to get me back to Maroni's place now. As fast as you can. Don't stop for anything. I'll see to it your paid for any traffic infractions. Speed." She told him. He gave her a strange look, but nodded. He pulled out onto the road and began driving back to Maroni's mansion.

Several minutes passed. "Go faster." She told him. He stepped on the accelerator and the car lurched forward. True to her instructions he never stopped for any traffic lights or eased his pace, except to turn.

It took 15 minutes to get back to the mansion. Ann rushed inside up to Misa's room. She was lucky to remember the way. She burst through the door, only to hear the scream from Misa at being woken up with such a start. Ann wasted no time in gathering her clothes, which Misa had neatly folded and left on a dresser against one wall. She dressed quickly, ignoring questions from Misa regarding what was going on. "Can't talk now. I have to go." Was all Ann said. She grabbed her belt and her gun holster containing the loaded gun. She left the empty one where it was.

She ran back through the house, clasping on her belt and holster as she went. She made it to her bike and started it, but ran into a problem. She had no idea how to open the doors to the garage. She searched the walls for some kind of button that would open them, but found none. Annoyed she began looking in the cars for one of the remotes that would open them. She found one in the pricy Cadillac. Luckily the door was unlocked; she would have hated to smash the window.

Once the doors were open far enough she sped out the still narrow opening. It was now 11:40.

She knew her way there because of a charity she had attended with Bruce at one point back before they knew each other's secrets. But it had been quite some time since then. She only knew for sure the area of the city.

Driving fast was a challenge. She no longer had a helmet that blocked her eyes from the wind, and it was too dark for her to wear her sunglasses. She squinted through the harsh wind and tried to go as fast as she could manage while still being able to see. Her heart was beating furiously and her hands were beginning to get shaky. She could barely think between trying to see through the wind and keeping her body relaxed and in control. She managed three main thoughts that kept going over her mind. The first was: Jak was going to blow up a building full of children. The second was: he was doing it because of her. And the final thought was: she was about to hand herself over without so much as a fight.

There was no other option. He had forced her hand yet again. She wasn't sure if he would really kill all those children or not. But she couldn't take the chance. Not when she could stop it.

She must have been going faster than she had originally thought, because she was soon in the area that the orphanage was located. But she wasn't sure exactly which way to go now. She decided to be smart, stopping at an intersection, she waited and listened. Faintly in the distance she could hear the whine of sirens. She quickly revved her bike and turned to her right.

Several blocks later she could see red and blue flashing up ahead. She slowed her pace and looked for a secure place to leave her bike. She could see a crowd of police behind their cop cars crowded around the building. She was sure Connor was among them by now. Seeing no place to leave her bike, and a need to make an entrance so she could get through the police, she decided for the dramatic.

Behind the police she revved her bike loudly causing some of the police to turn at her sudden appearance. None of them had even noticed that she was there. A moment after she got their attention she popped the clutch and rode her bike into a wheelie. Several of the police men scattered, afraid she would run them over. But she stopped short and let the bike's front wheel touch the ground just as she reached them. She killed the engine and flipped down the kick stand before getting off her bike and pulling the tie out of her hair that was holding it in the braid.

The shocked faces around her began to register that she was a civilian in a dangerous environment. She recognized a few of the faces from the bar earlier. All at once they began herding her back and away from the crime scene, dictating that it was too dangerous for her to be there.

"Where's Jim Gordon?" She asked loudly over the noise around her. Moments later Connor pushed his way through the crowed of other officers. "What the hell are you doing here?" He asked angrily. "I need to talk to Gordon now!" She yelled at him, glancing at her watch. There was suddenly a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see the police commissioner. "Ann, what on earth are you doing? This is dangerous. You need to leave." He insisted. She shrugged his hand off her shoulder. "There's no time for this! I'm the one he wants. He's demanding me." She told him. "If I don't go in there he's going to blow up all those children!" She yelled at him.

He held up his hands, realizing she was slightly hysterical. "I know he wants you, but he didn't demand you. He demanded something called his 'shadow'. You know he's insane. He'll blow up the building no matter what we do. There's no way for us to give him a shadow! He's screwing with us!" He was angry, but not at her.

"Your not listening to me! He wants me! He demanded me! I'm Shadow!" She yelled at him. She had to make him understand, or they would never let her get through. And there were too many cops for her to force her way through. She should have just ridden her bike strait up to the doors. That would have seen better results than this.

The commissioner stopped and looked at her. Seriously looked at her. "What do you mean 'your Shadow'?" he asked her. She was angry, beyond angry that he was making her do this. "Exactly what I said. My name is Shadow. I was his Shadow! He's demanding I return to him!" She was practically screaming at the top of her lungs.

Connor had caught on quickly enough. He was gaping at her. He had known that the Joker was after her for some reason. But he hadn't even had a clue as to why. Now he knew. Now they both knew.

It took Gordon a bit longer to process what she had said. "You mean you used to work for him?!" He yelled angrily. She was beginning to get a headache and she rubbed her temples. "Yes and no. I never worked for him. But I helped him. A lot." She confessed.

"Commissioner, one minute till." Someone told him. His eyes narrowed. "Look you don't have time for anything else. Just let me through. I'm the only one who can stop this." She told him.

She could see he was torn on what he should do. On the one hand she had deliberately left out information that could help him catch the city's most dangerous criminal. But on the other hand, she was a civilian and had chosen to separate from the criminal on her own. She could see he was having trouble deciding if he should let her go in or not. He was probably debating on whether he should arrest her or not.

Connor gave her a look and pulled the commissioner aside, out of her hearing range. Probably to discuss whether or not she should go in. "There's no time for this! You heard the guy! It's less than a minute!" She yelled at them. She gave up and started trying to shove her way through the police around her, trying to break through the line.

A moment after she began her tirade she was roughly grabbed from behind, a hand went over her mouth and the other firmly pinned her arms at her sides.

She began to struggle, but seconds later there was blaze of fire that exploded out from the building and an ear splitting bang. She was knocked backwards, along with the man holding her and the entire police force. Her head banged against the pavement just after the man holding her twisted in mid-air, putting his back to the explosion, and shielding her from the blast of fire.

It felt like everything was going in slow motion. Her head was foggy from the impact, and her vision was blurred. Whoever had grabbed her hauled her to her feet. She was unsteady and almost fell back to the ground. She probably would have if the man hadn't been there steadying her.

Her vision began to clear a bit. She realized that she was being dragged away from where the explosion had taken place. Suddenly realizing what was going on she dug in her heels and tried to break her wrist free from the man's grip. She couldn't see his face, as he was facing away from her. But he was wearing the police blues and hat. She assumed that he had noticed her making her way to the building just as it was about to explode, and stopped her. And now he was probably trying to get her out of harm's way.

"Let go of me! I have to get back there! I'm not your concern right now. Go help the others." She barked at him, hoping he wouldn't be stubborn and take her somewhere 'safe' against her wishes.

Her thoughts flew to Jak. Surely he hadn't been in the building when it exploded. He wasn't suicidal on top of everything else. But she still had to make sure. He was surely somewhere in the immediate area. That was when the realization hit her.

Her free hand flew to her mouth and she dropped to her knees as she looked back at the burning building.

"My God. All those children." She gasped.

The man still holding her wrist went ignored until he hauled her up to her feet again and proceeded to drag her away from the area. And once again she was brought back to the situation. She yanked her arm, trying to free herself from his grasp. But he had a death grip on her.

"What the hell, dude! Let me go!" She yelled at him. Surely he had more pressing concerns than simply getting her to safety? Like putting out the fire, or something?

Off in the distance she could hear someone calling her name, looking for her. She identified the voice as Connor's.

"Connor!" She yelled, hoping he could hear her. Maybe he could talk some sense into this idiot. Not even a second after she'd yelled back the man yanked harshly on her arm and pulled her into his arms with her back to his front. She struggled once again, cursing the man with every insult she could think of.

A low and husky laugh next to her ear stilled her immediately. She would have recognized the laugh anywhere.

Everything fell into place inside her mind. She was never meant to actually go into the building. He had always planned on blowing up the orphanage, weather she gave herself up or not. And she had walked into the whole thing without a single thought or clue as to what was really happening.

"Did ya miss me, love?" he asked in her ear. His voice was husky and rough. It made her shiver, but this snapped her out of the shock she had been in at his sudden revelation. She began to kick and struggle against him, but he was already prepared for this. Moments later his hand came over her mouth again, this time covering her nose and mouth with a cloth. She barely had time to register what he was doing before she collapsed in his arms.

**Special thanks to ChidorixCixBritannia for your review on chapter 4. ^_^**

**I'm on a roll here, huh. Two chapters in two days. I've had a good burst of creativity in the last few days and got busy. And I'm still going. **** - happy face. **


	6. Chapter 6

~Broken: The Unyielding Beast~

Chapter 6

The drone of muffled voices was what brought her back from oblivion. She groaned internally at the disruption to her sleep. She couldn't remember ever being this tired. Except one time…..

The thought of when Joker had used chloroform on her forced her to remember the list of events that had happened just before she had blacked out. She slowly opened her eyes. She didn't get much of a view. Her nose was several inches away from a wall. She lay still for a few minutes trying to hear the voices that seemed to be coming from a different room. After her head was clear enough she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.

She was on a slightly rickety bed with plain covers that looked old and worn. She was in a small bedroom. There was an open door to her left that lead to a bathroom, a closet with sliding wood doors in front of her, and directly to its right was another door that she assumed would lead to the rest of the building. On the wall to her right she could see a window. Once she felt she could manage it, she pushed herself off the bed and went to explore the window, in the hopes she could find an easy way to escape. From the lack of light she could tell it was still night time. Though there was no way to tell how long she had been unconscious. Looking out the window she immediately cursed to herself. The window was barred from the outside. There would be no leaving through that particular window.

Only now did she have the sense to check for her gun. Of course, it was missing, along with her belt, knives, wallet, and cell phone. She was grateful to still be wearing her leather jacket.

She tried the door next. The door looked like it was made of a very solid and thick oak. She was surprised that the door knob turned. She pulled on the door, but it didn't budge. She yanked on it harder but it was still stuck in place. It must have had some kind of bolt on the outside. Cursing she kicked the door.

Ann explored the closet to find that there were already several sets of her clothes hanging neatly on hangers. Other than the several pairs of jeans and tank tops, the closet was empty. She angrily stomped to the bathroom.

The bathroom was fairly modest. Meaning it was small. An oval mirror hung on the wall above a small porcelain sink. Sitting on the sink was a container of liquid soap. The toilet was on the wall next to the sink. There was a small bath tub with a built in shower head and a clear curtain. Ann roller her eyes.

_Pervert._

She noticed he had taken the time to buy some shampoo and conditioner. At least she wouldn't have to go through this entire ordeal being filthy. Though it wasn't like she particularly wanted to take a shower when he could walk in on her at any moment. Especially with a clear shower curtain.

She went back to the door that wouldn't open. The muffled voices were still present, though she still couldn't make out what was being said.

At some point or another she was sure Joker would eventually make his appearance. If left up to him, she was sure he would show up at the most inopportune moment. So she decided to take it into her own hands.

She began to bang as loudly as possible against the hard wood door. The voices stopped, like they were listening for more noise. "Hey! Let me the fuck out!" She yelled then began banging on the door again.

For a minute there was no response. Just silence. But then she heard footsteps. She backed away from the door when they got closer and she heard the clang of something metal being lifted away. As the door opened she got into a defensive stance, expecting Joker. She contemplated jumping him the moment he came through the door. Too bad she didn't have something heavy to smash into his head. She was very pissed at him.

When the door opened she was slightly caught off guard. The door opened to reveal a huge bald African American. It was not the Joker.

The man was so tall that he almost had to duck to avoid the top of the door frame. This guy made the bouncer at Maroni's gate look like a child throwing a temper tantrum. His black t shirt strained across his chest and arms to contain the bulging muscles beneath the fabric. He wore tan cargo pants with what looked to be a very wicked looking Bowie knife hanging from his belt. The cargo pants were tucked in at the ankles into huge black combat boots.

He coughed discreetly, snapping her out of her stupor. "Umm, where's the Joker?" She asked, still surprised he hadn't come himself to gloat about finally catching her.

The man looked her up and down. "He said to give you food when you woke up." The man told her bluntly, holding out a plastic tray that she now noticed he had been carrying. He placed the tray on a table by the door and then turned to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute." She called to him. He stopped and turned to look at her again, waiting for her to explain.

"Umm, why are you the one that came to give me the food?" She asked. She noticed a slight smirk on his face.

"The boss said you'd probably attack whoever came in first. He suggested I be the one to bring the food so that you'd think twice about being a problem for us." He told her.

She mentally winced. Guess that idea 'had' slipped her mind the moment she saw him walk through the door. Joker 1 Shadow 0.

"What's your name?" She asked him. She noticed the look on his face. It was like he was thinking 'why would she possibly want to know that?' kind of look.

"Bear." He told her simply. Her eyebrows rose. At least his name fit him well.

"Bear huh. Well Bear, did your boss happen to say when he'd be back?" She asked him. He shook his head.

She sighed. "Well did he leave any other instructions or messages concerning me?" She asked him. His eyebrows rose slightly.

"Only that no one's allowed to touch you or harm you in anyway, unless you try to escape. He said if that happened we should knock you out again." He told her. She rolled her eyes. Of course he had told them that. At least she didn't have to worry about them thinking she was a piece of meat.

"Okay, well is Devon or Sniper here?" She asked him. "They have been told not to speak with you." He told her. She scowled. "Well can I at least come out of my room after I eat and watch tv or something?"

He looked like he wanted to say no. But she doubted Joker would have 'specifically' told them not to let her out. It would have been implied. "He didn't tell you I couldn't did he?" She asked. He still looked hesitant, but she already knew the answer. "Well if he didn't say not to, there should be nothing wrong with it, right?" She prodded.

He considered it a moment. "Fine, were playing poker later. I'll come get you. But if you try to escape, I'll be the one to knock you out." He told her, a toothy grin spread across his face. She smiled and nodded at him, but her mind made a sound that could have been akin to something like 'eep'.

He looked satisfied, and left the room. She heard the metallic sound of whatever lock or bolt being put back in place from the other side.

She walked over to the table and examined the 'food'. It turned out to be microwaved chicken noodle soup, a few pieces of toast, and a glass of grape juice. Her eyebrows rose at the plastic spoon. What, they didn't trust her with a metal one? What did they think she'd do, make a shank out of a spoon? A thoughtful look crossed her face. Maybe not a shank, but screwdriver to loosen the bolts on the window bars would be good.

She took the tray of food to the creaky bed and sat it next to her. After she finished off the soup she munched on one of the toast pieces and walked to the window to look out again. She still couldn't see much through the lack of light, but it was obvious that she wasn't on the ground level of the building. There weren't any buildings she could see nearby. Just grass and a few trees. This was shaping up to be a boring 'kidnapping' already. She couldn't get over how Joker hadn't waited for her to wake up so he could gloat over her, or try to have sex with her, or intimidate her. It was strange. Maybe he simply didn't know what to do with her now that she was caught.

She finished the first slice of toast and started to work on the second. While she munched on it she relaxed on the bed and made herself busy by doing nothing. She stared at the ceiling. When she finally finished the toast she polished off the last of the grape juice then placed the tray back on the table by the door.

_Now what?_

**You could always talk to yourself.**

_Isn't that what I do with you every day?_

**Not technically.**

_Just like usual, your no help at all._

She looked around the room, searching for something to do.

**I could help, but since your being rude I see no reason to do so.**

_You never help! You just chatter away, distracting me from-_

**From what? The lovely view?**

Akira snickered inside her mind. Ann rolled her eyes. Her alter ego did have a point.

She was lucky. She didn't have to wait long. There was a knock at the door and she grinned at the thought of getting out of the small room and seeing the rest of the house. She happily yelled 'come in'. Only then did the door open. Ann smiled at Bear as his hulky frame took up the door space. He didn't say a word, just waived at her to follow him.

She quickly walked after him as he disappeared through the door and down a hall. She was surprised he let her walk behind him. Rule one was the obvious- never turn your back to an opponent. But then again, there wasn't a lot she could really do to the huge man. No way was she able to kick him in the head. Maybe if she jumped. If she did attack him, she was sure she'd end up like a kid trying to use an adult as a jungle gym.

She was paying a fair amount of attention to her surroundings, but there was little for her to see. They walked through a long and slightly narrow hallway. Every so often they would pass a door on one side or the other. After a minute the hall opened up to a small room that was equipped with a small television set and a couch. She was guessing this was where her 'guards' took shifts or something. It also explained where the voices were coming from when she woke up. But Bear didn't stop there. Instead he walked to a door in the corner of the room. After he opened it Ann could see that it lead to a stairway that descended to a lower level of the building.

He waited at the door and politely motioned for her to go first. She smirked and walked down the stairs ahead of him. Though he had made it seem like he was being polite, she knew it was only because if he walked first then she would have the advantage of having the high ground in a narrow corridor. Too bad, if she had had that advantage, she surely would have taken it. Because of his huge girth and bulk he would be at an additional dis advantage because of the small space.

She took a moment to wonder at the weird way she was always thinking of things like that as she descended the dark stairway. It was painfully obvious that she was basically at the mercy of this huge man walking behind her and whoever else was here watching her. Though she was sure they'd all die horribly and painfully if they ever did anything to her. But the thought of being so completely powerless made her slightly jumpy and nervous.

The light from the open door at the top of the stairway only helped her see so much. She strained to try to see the door that she was sure was at the bottom of the stairs. Giving up she put out a hand to stop her once it hit the door. Her plan worked and she fumbled a bit looking for the door's handle. Seconds later she found it and opened the door. The resulting light was a shock to her eyes, but they adjusted quickly as she blinked away the blur.

The door had opened up to a slightly larger room than the one they had just been in. There was a large flat screen tv sitting on what looked like a coffee table against one wall and several couches and chairs arranged in a typical living room setup in one half of the room. In the other half, the one farthest from her was a decent sized dining table. And around it sat Devon, Sniper, and a little man that she didn't know. There were two seats left open, presumably for Ann and Bear. Ann awkwardly walked over and took one of the empty seats, putting her next to Sniper. She felt much better seeing people she knew. Though, they didn't at all seem happy to see her. Sniper looked overall unaffected, but Devon looked uncomfortable to have her there. Probably because he knew Joker wouldn't approve. The third man that she didn't know looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Hi guys." She said to Devon and Sniper. They both looked at each other then waved at her. "Ah, forbidden from speaking to me." They both nodded.

Bear took the open seat to her left. "That's Donald." He said pointing to the little man, who waved nervously. "We all just call him Hackman." Bear told her. She smiled and waved back to him, taking the time to look him over. He was short, around her height, and had brown hair that was slightly balding. He was wearing a checkered shirt.

"Why do people call you Hackman?" She asked him curiously. He blushed when she spoke to him, like he wasn't used to talking to women. "I hack things." He told her.

"Oh, like with computers?" She asked. He nodded. She was suddenly thoughtful. Obviously Bear and Hackman were either new to Joker's posse or she simply hadn't met them until now. The question in her mind was why Hackman was there. There was no questioning Bear's presence. He was obviously backup muscle. But why would Joker need a hacker?

She looked at Hackman suspiciously. "Did you ever hack me?" She asked, expecting an honest answer. The four men looked at each other, obviously not knowing what to say. Hackman looked embarrassed, but nodded. Well, that answered her question.

"You'll, um, you'll be happy to know that it wasn't easy. And it didn't help us find you… either." He told her, hoping to gain her forgiveness. She sighed, but gave him a small smile, telling him she knew it wasn't his fault.

"Well, are we goinna play cards, or what?" Devon proclaimed before grabbing the deck of cards and shuffling them. Ann and Sniper both looked at him like he was insane. He stopped and looked at Sniper. "What? He didn't say we couldn't talk around her. Just that we couldn't talk 'to' her." He stated. Sniper looked skeptical.

"Awe c'mon! It's nothing worse than her being down here playing cards. We all know how J would feel about that." He stated. Everyone looked uncomfortable at that particular comment.

"Jeez, it's like your all afraid of him jumping out of a closet or something. I'm not exactly happy with his recent decisions anyways. Let's just have a good time and play poker." Devon said to the group. Everyone agreed and Devon finally began dealing the cards.

Several games later and Ann had already picked up on how to win easily with the group. Sniper and Bear were her hardest opponents. Devon was easy to read. When he had a good hand he would spend more time looking at the cards and seemed to be afraid someone would look over his shoulder and see his good luck. Hackman had initially taken her a bit to figure out. He always looked nervous. But she began to notice that he would scratch his balding head and look disappointed when he didn't have a good hand.

Ann was having trouble picking up on Bears ticks. He had a very good poker face, but she had managed to win against him a few times. Sniper was the real issue. His face was like a mask. No emotion or registration ever passed on his face. And Ann realized he was like this on a normal basis. She knew he was incredibly smart. But he never showed anything. She was beginning to get frustrated with trying to figure him out.

Between Sniper and Bear they could easily kick her out of the game if they teamed up. And she didn't like that. They weren't playing with real money, but with a set of poker chips. Each person had been given their own stack of chips equal to everyone else's.

Ann was up from what she had started with. But Sniper was up higher. Bear was about the same as her. Devon and Hacker were the ones losing.

Then she had an idea. It might work if she played some subtle mind tricks on them. She had a bad hand consisting of and ace, a deuce, a jack, an 8, and a 6. Basically she had nothing. But instead of keeping her mask of indifference, she let herself smirk a bit. Devon was the first to notice. He immediately folded. Her smirk grew a bit. Now it was Hackman's turn. He took a cue from Devon and folded as well. Bear was next. He looked her over and weighed his options. He had obviously noticed her smirk. After considering a moment he folded as well. It was her turn and she tossed a chip in the pot, and then looked at Sniper, wondering what he would do. It was all up to him now. If he folded she'd win and no one would see her cards. But if he called her they would show their cards and everyone would know she was bluffing. He folded.

_Success!_

She laid her cards down and pulled the pile of chips to her side of the table. This went on for a while. She would smile when her cards were bad and frown when they were good. After about three games she switched it up and did the opposite.

This worked very well for a while. It kept everyone thrown off. And it solved her problems with Bear. But Sniper was still being a problem. She began to realize that it didn't matter what everyone else did. He simply played the cards according to his hand. If it was a good hand he'd raise or call and if it was bad he'd fold. There wasn't much she could do about this. She decided to change her tactics a bit. In addition to her fake tells, she would fold when Sniper raised, raise when he folded, and call when he called. This ensured that she would only go up against him on the calls, and she had a 50/50 chance to win those.

It didn't help her get any advantage over him. But it did keep them on the level.

After a while Ann got bored. So she decided to stir up a little trouble. She knew Devon would go along with it. But she had no idea what Sniper would do.

"So, where'd the clown run off to?" Ann asked Devon. He opened his mouth to answer but Sniper kicked him under the table, effectively silencing him. Devon glared at Ann for trying to trick him. While she had his attention she pointedly looked at Hacker. His face furrowed in confusion then lit up in realization at what she was trying to so.

Devon nudged the computer nerd to his right. "Hey, tell Ann later that J had some business with the mob and that he said something about collecting an insurance policy." He told the man without looking her way. Sniper looked up at Devon, as if to say 'wtf dude'. Ann couldn't help but snicker. Devon shrugged. "I'm not talking to her." He told Sniper simply. Bear rubbed a hand over his face, probably thinking that this was a bad idea.

Ann couldn't help but wonder if Jak's 'business' had anything to do with Maroni. She hoped not, as it would inevitably drag Misa and Reign into it. And an insurance policy was usually something you use to get someone to talk. Blackmail maybe? So he was going to try to blackmail her?

They were in between games now. Bear took the opportunity to walk to a mini fridge that was on the floor against the wall. He pulled out a 6 pack of Budweiser and brought it to the table. Ann was ecstatic to see alcohol. She contemplated the idea of her becoming an alcoholic. Bear handed out a beer to everyone. Hackman was the only one who refused. Ann popped the cap off the beer bottle and happily took a long drink.

"So how long you guys think he'll be gone?" She asked, leaving it open for anyone to answer. Bear may not have given her any information, but that didn't mean she couldn't get it some other way.

Devon looked at Sniper. "What did he say, dude? I don't remember." Sniper sighed. "He told us to wait for his return. He never said when that would be." Sniper said without looking up from his cards.

"Basically, he disappeared. He could walk through that door in five minutes or a week from now. We have no way of knowing." Devon elaborated to no one in particular.

"Or he could be here already…." A malicious voice trailed off from the corner. Everyone either swiveled or looked up, startled, across the room.

Joker, decked out in his full clown prince of crime glory, was leaning against the wall on the far side of the room. Ann made a glance at the only two possible doors that could lead downstairs. He wasn't anywhere near either of them. She shivered. There was no way to know how long he'd been there.

Fresh anger flooded through her. Anger at all the crap that had happened between them, for him kidnapping her and taking her against her will, for actually allowing his goons to shoot at her, and mostly because of the children that he had killed just to get to her.

She stood in an angry flurry and before anyone could do anything to stop her she grabbed her beer by the neck at hurled it as hard as she could at his face.

It never made its target. He simply raised his hand and effortlessly pushed the bottle away from his face as it hurled in his direction. It hit the wall several feet to the right of where he was leaning and burst into a shower of shattered brown glass and beer.

Everyone at the table was instantly on their feet. Bear made a move to grab her but Sniper beat him to it, holding her arms behind her back like a vice. She had to stand on her toes to keep contact with the ground. But she made no move to resist. She just glared at the man across the room. Devon and Hackman both looked incredibly shocked at her sudden change of mood.

Joker made a motion with his hand and Sniper suddenly let her go and she stumbled slightly. "I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Come here and I'll forget your outburst." He told her.

"I have a better idea, you can go join a circus and fuck off." She told him.

He sighed and pushed himself off the wall and smoothly made his way to her. She tried to back up, but she bumped into Sniper. Bear was to her left and the table to her right. She had nowhere to go.

She had the thought of jumping up onto the table or trying to roll under it, but he had already made it to her. He grabbed her roughly by the upper arm and pulled her towards the door that led up stairs. Of course, she struggled. And of course, she got nowhere with it.

He literally dragged her up the stairs, not stopping when she stumbled and nearly fell. Only his hold on her arm had kept her from face planting. This was when she began a barrage of curses and insults hurled in his direction.

Once at the top of the stairs he continued to drag her down the hall way. She dug in her heels and tried twisting away and yanking her arm free. No luck, he was holding her too tight. She kicked at him, but he was going too fast for her to fully catch her balance. So her kicks at his shins were ineffective.

He stopped at a door halfway down the hallway, causing her to stumble into him. The door looked exactly like the door to the room she had awoken in. But it had several locks on the outside. He threw the door open. "This is your time out room. Try not to breath." He told her before shoving her inside. She landed on her hands and knees as he slamming the door. She heard the locks on the outside clicking into place. She shouted more curses at him as his footfalls were heard walking away.

It was completely pitch black. The floor had padding that immediately made her think of a padded cell in some loony bin. She wobbled as she stood and began feeling for a light switch. The walls, not surprisingly, were also padded. The door was also. There wasn't even a door knob on this side. There wasn't a light switch on the walls. She felt around in thin air looking for a pull string, but was unsuccessful. After feeling her way all the way around the room, which didn't take long, she determined that the room was only about 12 square feet. 6 feet by 6 feet.

A sharp click from the ceiling made her jump and a slight hiss was heard for a moment.

_Oh my God. He warned me not to breathe! What am I not supposed to breathe?_

Slight panic took over her and she had to force herself to remain calm. The more freaked out she was the more she would breathe. She immediately sank to the floor by the door trying to avoid whatever it was she was supposed to avoid. She couldn't smell anything strange and the air didn't taste funny. After several minutes went by she began to think he was just screwing with her. Maybe he was trying to make her paranoid.

A soft noise in the corner made her jump. Her eyes darted in the direction of the noise, trying to search through the pitch black.

_That's strange. I know I heard something. But the room is empty._

A minute went by and it was still silent. She curled her knees up to her chest and put her back in the corner. Then she laid her head back against the padded wall, intending to go to sleep.

Her eyes shot open, searching again in the dark. A second noise had jerked her back to consciousness. This time it was a little louder. It sounded almost like something walking or shifting on the other side of the room.

This had to be Joker fucking with her. He was somehow making a noise in the room to freak her out.

"I know it's you you fucking ass hole." She told the noise, determined to piss him off. She received no answer. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes again. Several minutes later there was another noise. This was much clearer. Scuffling, like an animal. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the realization.

She still wasn't beyond the thought that somehow Joker was the one making the noises. But now she was much more open to the possibility that he wasn't.

She scooted over to the door, keeping her back to the wall and elbowed the door several times. "Hey, open the door!" She yelled. After a minute there was no response. She tried again.

A low animalistic growl came at her from the empty end of the room. She screamed and jumped to her feet, ready to fend off the animal, now identified as a dog or some other k9. But nothing ever came at her or attacked her. She banged on the door with her fist, still keeping her back against the door.

Thoughts of crazed hounds and bloody dog attack victims flashed through her mind, as did several werewolf movies that she had often found enjoyable. None of it felt enjoyable now.

"It's not funny anymore Jak! Let me out!" She screamed. Another growl, this time louder and closer to her. She shrieked and kicked out in the direction of the sound. Her foot hit empty air. She banged on the door louder and a bit more insistently, screaming for someone to open the door.

Her breathing was rapid and she was slightly hysterical. She couldn't see it. She had no idea where it was or when it would attack her. And she had no way of knowing how big or mean the dog was. But it had sounded big.

Common sense went out the window when she heard the sound right next to her face. A completely vicious and unnatural sounding scream of a growl. She whirled, lashing out with her fists at the creature. But again, she hit nothing. She hadn't even comprehended that there's no way a dog could be standing that tall.

Giving up all modesty or reservations she shrieked and screamed for help, banging on the door with all the strength she had.

The door to the room opened suddenly. With no warning at all she tumbled forward out of the room and into a pair of solid arms. She didn't that it was Joker at that point. She had a death grip around the his neck and she wasn't about to let go. She rambled, insisting that they 'kill it' over and over while she cried into the Joker's shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her in her hysterics.

"Jesus, that shit really works." Devon commented from beside him. He had been panicked the entire time she had been in the room. He'd almost attacked Bear trying to come help her once she started screaming. Sniper was behind him. He had the most disgusted look on his face. It was the only visible emotion Joker had ever seen him show. Ann had passed out in his arms moments earlier.

"I told you, it's potent." Joker commented on Devon's remark. Sniper whirled and walked back down the hall, obviously pissed off about something.

Joker picked her up and carried her back down the hallway, stopping at the door closest to hers. Devon had followed. Joker gave him a look that said he wasn't welcome and Devon turned and left. Joker opened the door and walked in to his room.

There were a few significant differences in this room than the one he had put her in. For one the bed was bigger, and more comfortable. The room was bigger over all. He had installed a tv on the wall. Not like he'd ever watch it.

He laid her on the bed and took her coat off her. A clock on a table by the bed said it was 4:48 am. It was going to be a long day. He took off her boots and tossed them on the floor before pulling the covers up over her. Sitting on the other side of the bed he pulled off his purple coat and shoes, then his vest and shirt.

A final glance at her brought a smile to his face. Just having her in his presence again brightened his moods.

**Okay, so obviously Joker's done messing around with her. I really didn't like writing this chapter. The idea came to me while I was watching the first movie. I was a little stuck, so I went with it. Basically what I'm trying to get at is she's being stubborn and he's going to the extremes to get her back. I realize that there's not a lot of Joker in this. Sorry. I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here. I know how and where I want it to end. But getting there is difficult. There's more to come. I promise.**

**As always, I appreciate any feedback. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. I don't check my messages very often, but I promise to reply to any received if I do happen to get any.**

**I want to personally thank boca3 and ChidorixCixBritannia for your reviews.**

**Chidorix: It was never my intention to make you hate Joker. Lol I apologize. This is a Joker fic, but I had originally planned to make an alternate version for if she chose Bruce. As for my mentioning you, I made a habit in the first story to personally thank everyone who left a review as I was writing. And I plan to continue that habit. **


	7. Chapter 7

~Broken: The Unyielding Beast~

Chapter 7

She must have been tossing and turning in bed for close to an hour, trying to force herself to continue to sleep. She had the most awful headache, and she didn't feel the least bit interested in facing the day.

Finally she forced herself to sit up. Blood rushing to her head from the movement made her head pound. She remembered the events from the previous day. But the last bit of it was fuzzy. It was almost like remembering a nightmare. Surely she hadn't dreamt the entire thing. She shivered involuntarily.

It was obvious that she had been put in a different room. The bed was much more comfortable and the room was bigger than the previous one. A clock on a table next to the bed told her it was 2:34 pm. She must have slept through the entire day.

A folded piece of paper next to the clock caught her attention. She reached for it; wincing at the pain it caused her head. She unfolded the note.

_Take a shower. When your ready, I'll be waiting for you. We'll talk over breakfast._

_-J_

She really didn't feel like talking. All she really wanted to do was drown herself in a bottle to get rid of the horrible head pain. She pulled the covers off herself, noting that her boots and coat were discarded in the floor. She pulled off her tank top and tossed it on the floor with her coat and boots. Then she walked to the closet that matched the one in the previous room. As expected, there were several sets of clothes there for her, as well as one of her dresses. The knee length black one with the sparkles. He must have liked it.

She grabbed a fresh shirt and pair of pants before going to check out the bathroom.

The bathroom was a bit bigger than the other one. The bath tub was bigger and the shower head could be removed to better wash yourself. But it still had that annoying clear shower curtain. She rolled her eyes again.

She put the lid to the toilet seat down and laid her folded clothes on top of it before inspecting the door. She was happy to find that it locked. She gratefully shut and locked the door. She wasn't dumb enough to think it would keep him out if he really wanted inside. But it would give her a few seconds of warning at least, not to mention a false sense of security.

She folded the shower curtain over its bar to get it out of the way then turned on the hot water and plugged the tub. Screw a shower. She was going to have a nice long relaxing bath. She turned the cold nob until the water was a comfortably warm temperature then waited for the tub to fill.

While she was waiting she pulled off her pants and tossed them on the floor by the door. She un-hooked her bra and tossed it onto the toilet with the clean clothes. When she did something clattered to the floor at her feet. She nearly had a heart attack. It was her Swiss army knife.

She remembered hooking it onto her bra when she went out with Misa, Connor, and Sal. She had completely forgotten all about it.

**I told you I could have helped.**

_Why the hell didn't you say anything?!_

**You were rude.**

Ann mentally groaned and picked up the knife. At least she had some form of weapon if she should need it. She also had a way of escape. She contemplated going straight to the other room to try to escape through the window. But something stopped her.

_He said he wanted to talk._

She decided she would hear him out. If it went well then maybe there would be no reason to try to escape. And if it went badly she could always use the knife to loosen the bolts later. She hid the knife in her clean clothes then removed her panties and stepped into the steamy water.

She sank as far as she could in the hot water, letting it sooth her aching neck and shoulders and relax her body. She could feel her headache seeping away with the steam.

After she was relaxed enough she lathered her body with the soap that she found in the shower then washed her hair with the shampoo. Unlike in the other room, there was no conditioner in here.

When she finally felt ready to face whatever was coming her way she pulled the drain and stepped out onto the cold tile floor. The water was cold by now anyway. She dried herself off with one of the towels on a nearby shelf and dressed herself in the clean clothes. She also clipped her knife back onto her bra where she had found it.

She quietly unlocked and opened the bathroom door, looking around the room. It was still empty. There were no windows in this room. But she did notice the tv. She thought about ignoring his peace invitation to breakfast and just watching his tv instead. But she dismissed the thought. As usual, curiosity got the better of her. She walked to the bed and re-read his note. He hadn't said 'where' to go to find him for breakfast. Annoyed at his vagueness she opened the only other door in the room and glanced around the hallway. The door to the other room she had woken up in was directly to her right.

She quietly made her way down the hall. She didn't miss the door on her way that had multiple locks on it. She shivered and kept going. At the end of the hall Bear and Sniper were sitting on the couch watching the small tv. Sniper's ever present rifle was leaning in the corner next to the couch. Ann was surprised when Sniper's face lit up at her arrival, flashing several emotions that quickly faded back to his mask of indifference. It was almost like he was trying to silently communicate with her. Without saying a word, the both of them simply pointed towards the door that lead downstairs. She smiled her gratitude at them before opening the door and descended into the darkness.

Once she made it to the bottom she slowly opened the door and peaked out. Joker was sitting in the spot she had sat during poker the night before, his feet propped lazily on the table while he balanced on the chair's back two legs. His attention was on the tv across the room. She stood at the doorway watching him a moment, unsure how to make her presence known. She half expected him to already know she was there and tell her to stop stalling or something. But he seemed completely oblivious to her presence. For a brief second she thought about kicking the chair out from under him and laughing at him as he fell on his ass. He was almost asking for it the way he was leaning the chair back.

But she wanted this conversation to go good. And she was sure that doing something to insult his pride wouldn't help.

After a moment of consideration she gave in. Not knowing what else to do she simply walked to the chair across from him and sat down. Once she crossed his peripheral vision, his eyes followed her the whole way, making her more uncomfortable. He stared at her, and she stared back. After a moment his eyes flicked back to the television. Her eyes narrowed. He spent all this effort to get her stuck here so he could talk to her, and now he was ignoring her in favor of the tv?

After a minute she cleared her throat, showing him her annoyance. He glanced back at her. "Are you going to play nice today?" He asked her. His tone made it seem almost like he was scolding a child.

"Are 'you'?" She shot back. He laughed at her softly under his breath. She crossed her arms. She was beginning to think this wouldn't go as well as she had hoped.

He turned, setting the chair back on all four feet and propped his elbows on the table. "How much from last night do you remember?" He asked, making her feel like she was missing something. She frowned in confusion. "I remember everything from last night." She told him. She was certain. But her mind went over the evening anyways, looking for anything she may have missed.

She back tracked to playing poker with the guys, Joker making his appearance, throwing the beer bottle at him, then him dragging her to that dark room. Then it hit her. She didn't remember ever going to sleep in the bedroom. Had she nodded off in the padded cell? Did he carry her back to the bed? Surely she would have woken up.

She glanced back up at him, realizing she was in fact missing something. When she noticed the light in his eyes she knew he had been studying her while she thought it over.

"I just _looove_ watching you think." He commented.

She glared at him, seething at his sarcasm.

"Here's how this is goinna work, babe-"

"_Babe?"_ She interrupted, annoyed with the pet name.

He tisked, "See, this'll go a lot _faster_ with less interruptions." He told her. She sneered at him in return. "Did you seriously just call me **babe**?" She asked, beginning to get pissed.

"Okay, I'll just ignore your random outbursts of pms. I know you can't help it." He stated, and was about to continue when she abruptly stood, slamming her palms down on the table. "PMS? Fuck you! You can kiss the darkest part of my ass!" She yelled.

His eyes narrowed. "Sit down!" He yelled back. He never stood up. But his voice was so pissed and menacing she almost instantly took her seat. Once again, she felt like a naughty child that was in for a scolding.

"So basically, I came to the conclusion that I can't get a damn thing done lately. And the reason for that is I'm constantly chasing you." He leaned forward, intimidating her into leaning back away from him, even though there was a table between them. "This is a problem for me." He told her darkly.

She was silent as he continued his intimidating stare. Finally he leaned back. "Here's what's going to happen. Until you work through whatever issue you seem to be having-"

She found her voice, and her confidence, by interrupting him again. "You know exactly what my issue is!" She yelled at him, indignant that he was trying to blame the entire situation on her.

He closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath, obviously trying not to lose his temper. When he spoke again his voice was quieter, but a bit darker. "Your issues are your problem. As I recall, you had no problem when I had fun with Batman until you became friends with him. I haven't changed. You did. I've told you before, your friends are your weakness." He paused a moment to let that sink in.

"Until you work through your issues, you'll be staying here. So long as your good, you can move around the top two floors. Ground floor is off limits." She was an instant away from another outburst, but a warning look prompted her to hold her tongue. "For the moment, no one is allowed to speak to you _or_ in your presence. That may change later, if you obey the rules."

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Since when do you like rules?" She asked him. He clicked his tongue at her. "For that matter, when have you ever known me to work well with rules? You really expect me to go along with all this?" She asked him. His eyes narrowed.

"As for escaping, I happen to know about a certain someone currently stuck in a hospital. It'd be a shame if someone were to blow up that hospital out of spite." She started to question him. But he beat her to it. "And don't try to say I wouldn't do it. I most definitely would. And it would be because _you_ decided to run away again." He told her.

_Fuck…_

She realized he was right. At this point he was willing to do anything if it meant keeping her here and resolving this. Questioning if he would really do it or not didn't matter. Because the fact was, there would always be that chance that he would. And she would never take that risk.

At least for the moment, she was stuck here.

He could see the defeat in her eyes. He smiled and rested his arms back on the table, finally satisfied.

"Okay. What are these stupid rules?" She finally asked. He smirked. "Basically stay here, don't go on the ground floor, and don't piss me off." He told her.

The first two she could deal with. Obviously she wasn't going to leave. Not while Jasmine's life was in question. And she was fairly certain she could hold off her curiosity and avoid the ground floor. But to avoid pissing him off would be another matter entirely.

"Do I get my cell phone back?" She asked. He shook his head. "Fine, what happens if I piss you off?" She asked. He leaned in towards her. "You found out last night, or don't you remember?" He asked.

She frowned in confusion again. "The padded room? Solitary confinement is hardly a punishment." She commented.

He leaned back in his chair, obviously thinking something over. After a moment he leaned forward again, looking hard at her. "Try to think real hard. What happened after I threw you into the dark room?" He asked her.

She did as he suggested and thought back really hard. She remembered screaming curses at him. Then sinking down to the floor and leaning against the wall. Then there was some kind of irrational paranoia. But she couldn't quite place what it was. That was when she remembered the dream. Like she was in some kind of werewolf movie. She gasped out loud.

"Did I hallucinate?" She asked, concern lacing her voice. He leaned closer still, telling her with his eyes that she could do better than that.

No, he had somehow caused her to hallucinate. Temporarily losing her mind would be the punishment for breaking his rules. But how had he managed to do it? Then she remembered the night years back when the crazy psychiatrist from Arkham had unleashed some kind of fear toxin on the city.

Her mouth dropped open when she thought about just exactly what he had done, and was threatening to do again. "You drugged me?!" She nearly screamed. He tilted his head. "Technically I gassed you. Drugged sounds so…. sadistic." He corrected her.

She stood abruptly. "No. There's a limit. A freakin line that you don't cross!" She yelled at him. His eyebrows quirked in amusement. "You can't just throw me in a room, drug me, give me hallucinations, then expect me to fall back in your arms and call you my savior!" She continued. He laughed at her.

"Funny, that's exactly what happened once I opened the door." He commented through his laughter. She turned to leave, headed back to the stairs that went up.

"Where are you going?" He asked. He sounded almost insulted that she would leave. "Away from you!" She yelled. She slammed the door and walked up the stairs in the dark, nearly stumbling several times in her anger. A moment later the door opened and she could hear his footsteps following her. She reached the top floor and then slammed that door as well.

Sniper and Bear just watched as she stormed through the small room and down the hallway. Moments later Joker stormed through after her.

When she reached the end of the hallway she wasn't sure which room to barricade herself in. After a moment of indecision she chose the room she had originally woken up in. She yanked the door open and turned to slam it in his face. She was too slow. He stuck his foot in the door just as it was about to shut. A second later he slammed his palm against the door and she jumped back as the door flew open.

He stood in the doorway glowering at her. She was out of places to go. He had her cornered.

"Just stay away from me!" She yelled. He walked towards her anyways. She backed up. "I'm not going to just go away. I'm standing right here. Face your problems." He told her. Silence.

He took another step. He could see it; she was on a ledge, about to jump off. She just needed a little push….

"Admit it to yourself! Your being a drama queen! You didn't have a damn problem until you got chummy with that pretty boy!" He yelled at her. She twitched. "I'm allowed to have whatever friends I choose! You can't control me!" She yelled back.

"You have a jealousy issue! That's what the problem is!" She yelled. That was all it took. His temper snapped in half.

He lunged at her, closing the distance between them fast. She sidestepped, trying to use his momentum against him. But he was too fast. He caught her by the hair and threw her onto the bed beside him. He was on top of her a second later. She struggled against him, but it was no good. She knew it. It didn't take long for him to have her hands pinned under her, using her own weight as leverage. His right hand was buried in her hair.

She sneered at him and struggled some more. But all she succeeded in doing was wiggle under him. He jerked her hair slightly, forcing her to tilt her head back and expose her neck.

"Your not doing too good in the rules department, love." He growled in her ear. Her shoulders burned from the strain and her headache was coming back in full swing.

"Get off me." She growled at him. He tisked at her. "Your not in the position to be making demands of me." He told her.

"Now, explain to me the difference. A year ago you were decked out in your leather, face painted, shooting at the bat. And now, your pissed off because I'm doing the same thing I've always done. Why exactly is that?" He asked. His voice was calm, but she could still sense the current of anger flooding through him. She knew he was right. She just wouldn't admit it. "I haven't changed. The problem here is you got close to two natural enemies. And now you have a guilty conscience."

She looked away from him. "I'll admit that when you admit your jealous." She told him. He laughed. Suddenly he was off her and she was free. She instantly jumped up, facing off with him again.

"That's what it takes?" He held his arms wide open. "That's all you wanted?" He asked. She wasn't sure she liked where this was going. She backed away from him. Determination was written all over his face. "Fine!"

Almost immediately she was pinned against the wall, his body pressing against hers. "You are mine." He said in a sinister voice. "I have every right to be angry when someone else tries to claim you." His lips were on hers a moment later. The searing kiss was the most passionate she could ever remember.

It didn't last nearly long enough. It had been much to long since he had kissed her. Her knees went weak as he pulled back and broke the kiss. He was smirking. "I was jealous. Now it's your turn." He told her.

She had to rewind her mind to what exactly she was supposed to say. Her thoughts were fuzzy. "You were right. I felt guilty. And I'm sorry I made you jealous." She told him quietly.

He leaned his forehead against hers. "That wasn't so hard. Was it?" He asked her.

Ten minutes later they were back at the table on the second floor. She was stuffing her face with pancakes and bacon while he watched her with amusement. By now Sniper had joined them in the room. Though Ann couldn't tell why. Joker had never called for him. But she shrugged it off. If he was there then there was probably a reason for it.

The mayor was on the tv announcing Harvey Dent day. Ann didn't really know what all had happened with Misa's old boss. But the media was claiming that Dent had died trying to protect the commissioner's family from Batman. Ann knew that was a load of crap. She was willing to bet it was the other way around. But it didn't really have anything to do with her. So she just watched in mild interest.

Because of their earlier break through Joker had basically lifted the 'restrictions' that he had placed on her. Though he was still adamant about having to stay on the top two floors. And she still wasn't allowed to leave.

When Ann was almost finished eating Sniper coughed discreetly, getting Joker's attention. "Which one of us is going to watch her?" He asked. She glared at the two of them. She didn't like the way she felt like a child that needed to be watched. Joker glanced at her. "No need. She can come with us." He answered, a smirk growing on his face.

"Just where are we going?" An asked.

"Bank. Been short on cash." He told her.

"Ah, that explains the plastic cutlery." She mused. He smirked. "Cash isn't one of my main concerns. But I 'do' have employees to feed." She laughed.

Was she actually having a normal conversation with him? He wasn't trying to get in her head or seduce her. It was so, well, normal. And normal was definitely NOT normal for him.

"So, you're the expert. When's the best time to hit a bank?" she asked, curious. "Usually between 2 and 4." He replied. Now she was more curious. "Why's that?" She asked. He smirked at her. "It's right after they take their lunch. Their contented enough to be completely shocked at the robbery. Shocked people fight back less. And it's late enough in the day that everyone's exhausted and just wants to go home." He told her. Her eye brows rose in surprise. "Clearly you've though this through." She commented. He shrugged. "I've had time to perfect the technique." She laughed.

This was nice. He was actually talking to her. She was definitely enjoying this.

"We might have a bit of a problem if your going with us." He commented after a minute. She scowled. "Why's that?" She asked.

"Well technically you're a kidnap victim. Can't have you flashing around that beautiful auburn hair and prize winning smile."

Wow. Crazy flattery.

She smiled. "Well I get the hair, but my smile is hardly 'prize winning'." She told him. A half faked smile came over his face. "Well, you don't smile that often." He commented.

Damn did that speak volumes.

"Okay, so I guess I can't go." She said, a bit disappointed. Strange, it's not exactly normal to be disappointed in not getting to be part of a bank robbery. But she was. Just a bit. It would be nice to get out of the rut she'd been in lately.

He tisked. "Not necessarily."

Twenty minutes later she had swapped her leather jacket for a black hoodie. She had pulled her hair back into a pony tail and had the hood up. They were about to leave. The van was already running outside. Ann was a bit sketchy on the details. But basically, they would go in guns blazing, somehow the alarms would be taken care of and apparently so would the safe. Though she had no idea how. Her job was to hold down the hostages with Joker, Devon, and Bear. Joker had given her a rushed run down of everything as he packed hand grenades in a duffle bag. But she hadn't caught what everyone else was doing. Only what she was supposed to do.

If she had to guess, she would bet that Hackman would be the one to take care of the alarms. Since Sniper wouldn't be on hostage control, she was assuming he had something to do with the safe. But she wasn't sure.

She didn't like the grenade idea. Apparently they were going to hand out these grenades to the hostages to keep them from using their hands. All it would take is one idiot with butterfingers for the whole thing to become a disaster. Or it could be worse. Someone with experience with grenades could wind up being the end of all of them.

When she voiced these concerns to Joker he just laughed and went about his business. A few minutes later she was hustled into the back of the van. The van had two bench seats along the walls in the back. She sat next to Joker and Devon. Hackman was driving. Bear took up most of the room on the other side, and Sniper was beside him. It was the first time she had ever seen him without his rifle. She could hardly believe he had left it behind, though she supposed he would have no need of it. So it would only be in the way.

Shortly before they reached their destination Joker handed her a plastic clown mask. She smirked at the happy smiling face of a clown on the mask. "Seriously?" She asked. Everyone in the back of the van (except Joker) held up their own mask.

Ann took notice that Sniper looked more tense than usual. It was almost like he was nervous. Surely he had done this hundreds of times. But then again, it's hardly weird to be nervous right before you rob a bank. So she ignored it.

The van pulled into an alley behind the bank. Hackman got out and disappeared around the side of the van. Ann noticed that Joker looked at his watch as Hackman disappeared. Sniper reached across the van and handed her a machine gun. "You know how to work it?" He asked. She gave him an insulted look. He held up his hands in defense and sat back. She nudged Joker. "What's the protocol for shooting people?" She asked him quietly. He leaned over closer to her. "If they shoot at you, you shoot back." He told her. She nodded.

She was beginning to get jumpy. She couldn't tell if it was the excitement or being nervous.

Joker wasn't the only one watching the time. A few minutes went by and a knock jerked at her awareness. Sniper had knocked on the side of the van and then opened the doors. Everyone put on their masks and filed out the back. Ann was caught in the shuffle of it and just followed everyone else.

Oddly enough, she was nervous. She'd been in countless situations like this with Joker before. But this was the first time that she was actually being included in it. She felt pressure to not screw up or something.

The group ran in a line around the building and through a side door that lead into the main lobby of the bank. A couple of her accomplices shot off rounds at the ceiling and everyone in the bank dropped to the floor, and several people screamed. Sniper promptly disappeared through a door behind the counter while everyone else was either watching the hostages or pulling bank tellers over the counter out into the lobby floor.

Ann and Joker stood guard while Bear and Devon handed out the grenades. After a few minutes Hackman showed back up, presumably finished doing his job. A few minutes later Sniper poked his masked face through the door and motioned for a few to follow him. Hackman, Bear and Devon followed him through the door with a bunch of empty duffle bags, leaving Ann and Joker to watch the hostages.

Only problem with that was he wasn't watching the hostages. He was watching her.

She could feel his eyes burning holes in her back as she paced in front of the scared and shaking hostages. Unlike him, she was actually doing what she was supposed to. He was probably relying on his feared reputation to keep the eople in check.

Ann kept herself busy by watching for eyes. You could always tell who was planning to make trouble by their eyes. A normal, scared shitless hostage would do anything possible to avoid bringing attention to themselves. But someone thinking about making trouble would be watching their captors, waiting for the perfect timing.

She didn't have to watch the hostages long. Thankfully the boys in the back finished and within a few minutes were hauling the duffle bags back into the lobby. This spurred Joker into movement as he grabbed a few, slinging them over his shoulders. Ann followed suit, picking up several of the bags. They were a lot heavier than they looked. She made sure to keep an eye on the hostages as she did so.

Ann couldn't help but be impressed when she noticed Bear was carrying four bags, and still picking them up. He stopped at 6. The rest of the guys carried the remaining bags as they all rushed back the way they had come and back outside. Joker was the last one out. Ann couldn't help but smile when he pulled off his mask and flashed his Glasgow smile at the nearby camera before exiting after the others.

Back in the van Ann was on an adrenaline rush. She had the biggest smile on her face, hidden behind the mask. But she kept her cool, acting like she could care less about what was going on. In reality, she couldn't remember ever being so happy. Not only had she just pulled off a bank robbery, but she had done so 'with' the Joker. He had actually allowed her to participate. He had shared his world with her. And she was currently high on it.

They had only been driving for a few minutes before sirens could be heard. Luckily, they were headed for the bank, and Joker and his gang were already long gone.

She chanced a glance at Joker, who was sitting at the back of the van and on the opposite side from her. She was sitting more towards the front. His eyes were on her already. A sinister smile creeping on his face. Her own face was still hidden behind the mask. But he could see her eyes. He could communicate wonders through the simple look from his eyes to hers.

A shiver ran up her back from the look he was giving her.

The van soon came to a halt back at the warehouse. Everyone piled out the back. Ann started to follow, only to hesitate when Joker remained where he was sitting by the door. He still had that malicious smile on his face. She slowly sat back down.

The two of them watched and waited in silence as the guys pulled the bags of cash out the back. Sniper grabbed the last bag and stood at the van's door, waiting. Ann was staring at Joker, waiting for him to move. But out of the corner of her eye she barely caught a glare that Sniper sent towards the clown.

"Be a pal n shut the door." Joker said without looking in his direction. Ann gulped. Sniper slammed the door.

Neither of them moved. They just stared at each other. After at least a full minute of uncomfortable silence, he moved towards her. The second he moved she stiffened. But his intentions weren't as malicious as his grin was. He sat opposite her before slowly reaching across and pulling up the mask that still covered her face. "I think you can take this off by now." He commented.

Now she just felt stupid. Everyone else had taken off their masks on the ride back. But it had given her a small amount of comfort, knowing that with it on he couldn't see her facial expression.

He sat back. "Have a good time?" He asked. A slight blush crept on her face. But she nodded. He smirked. "The life of a criminal suits you." He told her. She felt slightly out of her element with this conversation. She leaned back slightly, wondering what his point was and what he was trying to accomplish with trapping her in the van with him.

Her skepticism didn't go unnoticed. He smirked at her. "Wondering what I'm up to?" It was only half a question. He already knew she was. She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to come clean with whatever he was trying to pull.

He held up his hands in self-defense. "No tricks. Just thought you'd enjoy a conversation." He told her.

She was still unwilling to believe it. "Since when do you make it a habit for normal conversations?" She asked, making it a point to be a bit sarcastic. He had a purpose for this. She was sure of it.

He gave her a slightly confused look. "Everyone has conversations." He argued. She glared. "You know that's not what I mean." She countered.

He leaned forward resting his chin on his knuckles. "Why don't you enlighten me then?"

"You don't have 'normal' conversations for no reason. You always have a point." She told him. He acted like he was thinking for a moment. "Isn't the point of a conversation to communicate?" He asked sarcastically.

She was close to the end of her patience. He was twisting her words around on her. "That's not what I mean!" She raised her voice this time.

He leaned forward more, bringing his face close to hers. "Maybe the 'point' of the conversation was to simply have a conversation." He told her. He closed the distance quickly, leaving a kiss on her lips, before he exited the van through the back door.

His actions left her slightly stunned. She shook it off and quickly followed him.

They were in the large storage area of the warehouse. There were several other cars parked in the area. The entire back wall looked like a maze of large crates and boxes. She hadn't really had much time to look around when they left. Everything was all a rush. Now she took the time to notice the hugeness of the room.

Joker was climbing a metal staircase against the nearest wall that she knew lead to the second floor. But her mind had flashed back to other things. She decided to look for Sniper. She had noticed he had been acting strange. And she wanted to ask him if everything was okay. For some reason she had this nagging feeling like she needed to talk to him.

The sudden sound of a Harley starting up echoed through the large building caught her attention. She walked around the van just in time to see Sniper coast out of the warehouse doors, his ever present rifle slung over his back. She ran after him, hoping to grab his attention before he left. But stopped at the door of the building. She was too late; he was already almost a whole block away.

Disappointed, she turned to go back into the building, only to shiver as a cold breeze swept through the door. She turned, looking up at the door. It was huge, made up of most of one of the buildings walls. It would slide open or closed by pushing it one way or the other. It was open just enough to accommodate a motorcycle. She decided to close the door, seeing as how Sniper hadn't bothered to do so.

She heaved at the door, and it slowly began to slide closed.

When the door was almost completely shut she stopped. The sound of police sirens made her heart leap. They were really close. But she forced herself to calm down. There was no way possible they knew where the hideout was. She finished closing the door and began to make her way towards the stairs.

As she walked she thought it over. They had just robbed a bank. Shouldn't all the cops be there, instead of in this area? The sound of the sirens had gone quiet. She decided to check, just to make sure. So she jogged back to the door and pushed it open a crack.

She nearly had a heart attack. The entire street was filled with police and SWAT teams. She bolted for the stairs.

Moments later she burst through the door to the lounge area in a panic. Devon had just sat down to watch the tv, and Bear was sitting at the table, going through his share of the cash they had just stolen. Both looked startled by her sudden panicked appearance. "Where's J?" she asked frantically.

"Upstairs. Why?" Devon said from the couch.

"Get out of the building, now!" She didn't wait to explain herself. She was already halfway up the second flight of stairs.

She ran through the third floor to the room she had woken up in. Joker was already poking his head out of the door, wondering at the commotion. She grabbed him by the shirt, intent on dragging him all the way through the warehouse if she had to.

"Woah, slow down love." He was laughing at her.

"We need to go now! I don't have time to explain. We have to leave!" She shouted, still trying to drag him towards the door.

He still didn't look like he was taking her very seriously. "Damnit! The cops are goinna raid the building! We have to go now!" She was screaming at him.

At hearing this he burst into action, practically dragging her along behind him. But by the time they got to the bottom of the stairs to the second floor, it was already too late. They collided with Devon and Bear on their way down. Devon was in a near panic, like Ann. "It's the friggin cops!" he yelled. They could all clearly hear the SWAT teams on the first floor. They would be up the stairs soon. Joker didn't even acknowledge him, instead he ran back up the stairs, dragging Ann with him. Devon and Bear followed.

"We need a window." Ann suggested when they stopped in the room at the third floor.

"The only windows that aren't bared are on the second floor." Devon whined. It was too late to go back down now.

Ann's mind clicked into action, remembering her plan with the knife and the bars on the windows. She immediately ran for the back bedroom. Everyone followed her. Bear held back though. He had the good sense to move the couch to block the door. It didn't take him very long before he caught up with the rest of them.

"This is a dead end!" Devon was still panicking. "We can't get out the windows, and all our guns are on the first floor."

Even Bear was beginning to panic. But Joker was watching Ann. He could tell she had a way out. When she pulled the knife out of her bra he nearly flipped. "Block the door." Joker commanded. Devon automatically went to the door and began moving the small table. Bear rolled his eyes. He walked to the bed and easily dragged it across the room. Devon leapt out of the way as Bear shoved it against the door. They were lucky the door opened into the room, instead of out. Ann was already working on the window. But she was having trouble getting it open. Joker gently pushed her away. It seemed he was the only one of them that was actually calm. He heaved at the window frame and it slid up out of the way.

Ann already had the screwdriver bit open on the knife. She leaned through the window trying to get a look at the heavy screws holding the bars in place. There were four, one in each corner. She stared to work on one of the bottom screws. It took a bit of force, but after a moment it broke loose. She stared unscrewing it, steadily freeing it from the bracket on the bar frame. Once it was loose she started on the second. This one wouldn't break. She strained at it, trying to loosen it. The knife slipped off the screw and slid straight into her finger. She yelped and jerked her hand back, profanity slipping from her mouth. Joker immediately took the knife from her as she sucked on her wounded finger. She backed away from the window as he began working on the second screw.

The SWAT team was into the third floor by now. She could hear them moving about, searching the various rooms. It would be mere moments before they reached the last rooms.

Meanwhile, Joker had freed the bottom of the bars. The top was still held on. But it was at the top of the window. Ann jumped as he bashed the glass at the top of the window. Glass shattered and fell everywhere. He reached his hand through and started on the top.

A bang on the door, most likely a kick to attempt to open it, caused Ann to jump a second time. Bear and Devon immediately put pressure on the other side of the door. Next to Bear Devon seemed useless. But the SWAT team would eventually break down the door. Not a minute later they began trying to do exactly that.

Joker had the third screw loose. That was all that they needed. He had pushed the square frame holding the bars to the right, causing it to pivot around the one remaining screw and open a way through the window.

The banging on the door was getting more violent. They must have brought in some sort of hand held battering ram. Every few seconds the door jarred. The impact was even enough to move Bear slightly.

Ann poked her head out the window. She cursed. "There's no ledge or anything to grab onto. We have to jump." She told them.

"It's a three story drop!" Devon shouted from the door. "We don't have any other choice!" She yelled back.

"It could break your ankles if you land wrong. You have to roll when you land." Joker stated calmly. She wanted to point out that she knew this already. But he had clearly said it for the benefit of the group. Not just her. He ushered her towards the window. She backed away. Something had just dawned on her.

Ann looked back at Devon. "After you." She told him, waiving him out the window. His eyes grew wide. "No way." Joker rolled his eyes. "C'mon, he'll follow. We need to go now." He told her. She shook her head in defiance.

"He won't go unless someone's making him go." She told him. Joker sighed, knowing she was right. "Go." He simply commanded.

"No way am I goinna break my ankle!" Devon yelled. "Fucking shit! Someone just go!" Bear yelled from the door.

"Fuck." Devon sighed. Two seconds later he took a running leap out of the window. Ann and Joker both rushed to the window to look out. Devon was on his ass on the ground.

Bear went next. Instead of running and leaping out of the window he went out slowly because of his huge shoulders. He dropped to the ground and rolled, coming to a stop in a crouch.

Behind them, the SWAT team had gotten the door open and was trying to push against it to move the bed that was blocking their entry.

Joker's eyes on her caught her attention. Suddenly she could tell he was debating something. "We need to go." She told him, preparing herself to leap out of the window.

"You're a hostage." Joker told her calmly. She stopped mid stride towards the window to look back at him. She didn't even see it coming. Sudden blinding pain hit her in the back of her head and she fell to the floor. The sounds of shouts and struggling were the last thing she heard.

**I thank everyone for their patience with me. I know its been a long time since I updated. And Im sorry. But hopefully itll be worth it. I had some difficulty figuring out how I wanted this chapter to play out. But it should go faster now that this is out of the way.**

**Special thanks to ChidorixCixBritannia, boca3, and storywriter1994 for your reviews. My idea was he had to do something drastic to try to get her out of her stubborn streak. Lol **


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